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THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM LIBRARY
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THE MEMOIRS
OF
MME ELISABETH LOUISE
VIGEE-LE BRUN
1755-1789
MADAME VIGfiE-LE BRUN IN HER STUDIO.
From an anonymous XVlllth-century engraving.
Frontispiece.
THE ^MEMOIRS OF MME
ELISABETH LOUISE
VIGEE-LE BRUN, 1755-1 789
TRANSLATED BY
GERARD SHELLEY
NEW Simjp YORK
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
Printed in Great Britain by
UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, LONDON AND WOKING
ILLUSTRATIONS
Madame Vig^e-Le Brun in her Studio . . . Frontispiece
FACING PACK
A Young Artist 7
Joseph Vernet lo
Madame Vig^e Le-Brun 14
Catherine II, Empress of Russia 19
Study of a Head 23
Mother-love 26
The Palace Gallery 30
Wavering Virtue 35
The Evening Promenade 39
View of Passy 42
Head-dresses of the Eighteenth Century 4^
The Palais-Bourbon and the Cours La Reine . . . . 51
The Box at the Op^ra 55
The Chaillot Fire-station 58
D'Alembert 62
Head-dresses of the Eighteenth Century 67
Fete de Nuit at the Little Trianon 69
Gluck 71
Queen Marie-Antoinette 74
The Trianon 76
Fashions of the Eighteenth Century 78
Fashions of the Eighteenth Century 83
Marie-Antoinette's Arrival at Notre-Dame .... 85
Madame Elizabeth of France 87
The Music Lesson 90
Madame du Barry's Pavilion at Louveciennes .... 92
Fashions of the Eighteenth Century 94
Fashions of the Eighteenth Century 99
"It's a Son, Monsieur!' loi
The Comte de Provence 103
The Princesse de Lamballe 105
Fashions of the Eighteenth Century iIq
Madame Le Brun Hi-
The Comtesse du Barry iiy
5
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
FACING PAGE
Peace Bringing Back Abundance 119
Gr^try 122
An Amateur's Studio in the Eighteenth Century . , .124
Fashions of the Eighteenth Century 126
M^nageot 131
The Hotel de Beauvau 133
Fashions of the Eighteenth Century 135
Calonne, Controller-General of Finance 138
Madame de Brunoy's House in the Champs-Elys^es . . . 140
The Abb]S Delille 142
The Comtesse de Sabran 149
Ponce-Echouard, the Poet 151
Madame Mol]§-Reymond 154
Madame Saint-Hubert 156
Hubert Robert- 158
Caillot the Actor 163
The Prince de Ligne 165
Madame Dugazon 167
Franklin 170
Caillot, the Actor, as Tom Jones 172
Madame Dugazon as Nina 174
Beaumarchais 179
Madame Vig£e-Le Brun 181
Boutin 183
Watelet 186
The Boulevards near the Hotel Montmorency . . .188
Etienne Vig^e 190
In the Park 195
The Hotel Montmorency 197
Rousseau's Tomb at Ermenonville 199
The Duchesse d'Orleans 202
The little Godparents 204
Mademoiselle Le Brun 206
The Princess- Royal and the Dauphin 210
A YOUNG ARTIST.
From an anonymous XVlllth-century dranving in the Muse'e du Louvre.
To face p. J.
INTRODUCTION
WOMAN HATH HER VICTORIES no
less renowned than man, may be truthfully
said of so celebrated a portrait-painter as
Madame Vigee-Le Brun. When a man's sayings
are heard on the lips of the lowliest dwellers of a
country, though he be dead and his name unknown
to them, he may be considered to have endowed
mankind with a part of himself that is immortal.
Madame Vigee-Le Brun achieved this victory in
paint. There is hardly a civilized home that is
unfamiliar with her portrait of herself and daughter
under the title of La Tendresse Maternelle. So
great a triumph of a woman, coupled with her
fame as the favourite portraitist of the unfortunate
Queen Marie- Antoinette, and as the fashionable
painter of all the aristocracies of Europe, cannot
fail to excite one's curiosity concerning her life
and personality.
Elisabeth Louise Vigee was born in Paris, in
the Rue Coq-Heron, on the i6th April, 1755,
the same year in which the Archduchess Marie-
Antoinette was born in Vienna. Her father was
a pastel painter of considerable talent, who had
taken part in the exhibitions of the Academy of
Saint Luc since 1751. At an early age she showed
signs of having inherited her father's gift, and
7
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
received from him every encouragement to develop
it. In her Memoirs she relates her first steps in
mastering her art. She was thirteen years old
when her father died, and after that event she
determined to earn her living by painting. It
was not long before she began to make an impres-
sion with a few portraits of a serious kind, which
suggested a pleasant imitation of Greuze, and
persuaded a few persons to give her a commission.
Her good looks and pleasant manner ensured
for her a certain social success which was very
useful to her in her career as an artist. She
received invitations from all quarters and was soon
to be found at all the smartest gatherings of Paris,
where she was able to observe the grand manners
and brilliant conversations, of which she has left so
delightful an account in her Memoirs.
Her first debut as an artist before the public
was at the exhibition of the Academy of Saint Luc
in August 1774, at the age of nineteen. Her fame
grew by leaps and bounds. In 1776 she married
M. Le Brun, a painter and dealer in pictures.
In 1779 she painted the portrait of Marie-
Antoinette, and from that time her reputation
was established throughout Europe. The young
Queen conceived a lasting affection for her and
gave her every protection. It was owing to the
intervention of Marie- Antoinette that Mme Vigee-
Le Brun was received into the French Academy
without the customary ballot.
The doors of her house in the Rue de Cldry
now opened to receive the most distinguished and
8
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
wittiest people of the age. Her salon became
famous throughout Europe. Of the famous people
that frequented it, and of the delights that were
enjoyed there, she has left us a charming account
in her Memoirs, The latter are all the more
interesting and moving because they portray a
brilliant and agreeable society that was amusing
itself apparently with no suspicion of the terrible
days in store, when so many of the revellers were
to lose their heads on the scaffold.
Her meteoric success was not without its darkness.
She was cruelly calumniated, especially regarding
her relations with a Minister she had painted.
Her passion for painting lasted all her life. At
sixty-eight she was able to write : " Painting is
always for me a distraction that will only end
when I die." Nevertheless, she was able to find
another in writing her Memoirs, These appeared
in three volumes in 1835-37. They took the
form of a series of letters addressed to her old
friend Princess Kourakin, whose acquaintance she
had made during her long sojourn at the Court
of the Empress Catherine H in Russia.
Madame Vigee-Le Brun died in Paris on the
29th May, 1842, at the age of eighty-seven,
leaving a world grateful both for her paintings
and for her lively Memoirs.
Although the three volumes of Memoirs have
previously been translated into English, that
section of this book — "Notes and Portraits" — has
not previously been translated.
G. S.
JOSEPH VERNET.
From an engraving by Catkelin (1770).
To face p. lo*
Memoirs of Mme Elisabeth
Louise Vigee-Le Brun
CHAPTER I
My childhood — My parents — / am sent to a convent — My passion
for painting — My father's circle — Doyen^ Poinsinet, Davesne —
/ leave the convent — My brother.
MY VERY DEAR FRIEND, you urge
me so warmly to write my memoirs for
you, that I have decided to satisfy your
desire. Imagine what it will mean to my heart
to recall the various events I have witnessed and
the friends who exist no more save in my thoughts !
Nevertheless, the task will be an easy one, for my
heart loves to remember, and in my hours of
loneliness those dear departed friends surround
me still, so vivid do they appear to my imagina-
tion. Moreover, I will add to my story the notes
I took at different times of my life on a number
of people who sat to me for their portraits and
who, for the greater part, belonged to my circle
of society. Thanks to this help, the sweetest
moments of my life will be made known to you
as intimately as I know them myself.
1 1
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
I will take first of all, dear friend, my earliest
years, because it was in them that the nature of
my future life was foreseen, my love of painting
having revealed itself in my childhood. I was
sent to a convent at the age of six and remained
there till I was eleven. During that time I was
always busy with the pencil, drawing whenever
and wherever I could. My writing books, and
even those of my school-fellows, were filled with
marginal drawings of litde heads and profiles.
On the dormitory walls I would draw faces and
landscapes with coloured chalks. As you may
suppose, I was often punished. In the intervals
of recreation I used to trace in the sand everything
that came into my head. I remember drawing
by lamp-light, at the age of seven or eight, the
portrait of a man with a beard, which I have kept
ever since. I showed it to my father, who was
delighted and exclaimed : " You will be a painter,
my child, if ever there was one."
I mention all this in order to show that my
passion for painting was born in me. This passion
has never weakened ; in fact, I believe it has done
nothing but increase with the passage of time,
for even to this day I feel all its charm, which
will not cease, I hope, except with my life. More-
over, it is to this divine passion that I owe not
only my fortune but my happiness as well, since
in my young days, as at the present time, it has
brought me into touch with all the most agreeable
and distinguished men and women of Europe.
The remembrance of so many remarkable persons
12
Memoirs of Madame Elisaheth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
I have known often imparts a charm to my solitude.
Thereby I still live with those who are no more,
and my thanks are due to Providence for having
left me this reflection of a bygone happiness.
As my health at the convent was very weak,
my father and mother would often come and
take me away to stay with them for a few days,
a proceeding which charmed me in every respect.
My father, whose name was Vigee, was very good
at pastel painting ; some of his portraits are worthy
of Latour. He painted also in oils in the manner
of Watteau. The one you have seen at my house,
has an excellent colouring and is ingeniously
executed. But, coming back to the pleasures I
enjoyed in my childhood's home, I must tell you
that my father allowed me to paint several heads
in pastels and also to dabble with his crayons all
day.
He was so deeply in love with his art that he
was often absent-minded. I remember how one
day, being dressed for dining out, he left the
house, but returned a short while after in order
to give a few touches to a picture he had just
begun. He took off his wig, put on a nightcap,
and went out again with the cap on his head and
wearing a gold-laced coat, a sword at his side, etc.
Had not a neighbour apprised him of his absent-
mindedness, he would have gone all round the
town in that costume.
My father had plenty of wit. His natural good
spirits infected everybody, and it was on account
of his delightful conversation that people came to
13
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
have their portraits painted by him. Perhaps you
already know the following anecdote ? One day,
being at work on the portrait of a rather pretty
woman, he noticed that when he was doing her
mouth she incessantly twisted it up in order to
make it smaller. Losing patience with this way
of going on, my father said to her very coolly :
" Don't put yourself out like that, Madam. If
you wish, I will paint you with no mouth
at all."
My mother was very beautiful. This fact is
brought out in the pastel portrait of her which
my father made, and in the oil painting which I
made later. Her character was austere. My
father adored her like a divinity ; but low females
swept him off his feet. New Year's Day was a
feast day for him : he would walk about all Paris
without paying a single visit, merely to embrace
all the girls he met under the pretext of wishing
them a happy New Year.
My mother was very pious. I, too, was pious
at heart. We used always to hear High Mass
and attend the services of the Church. During
Lent especially we never missed any, not even
the evening prayers. I have always been fond of
religious music, while at that time the sound of
the organ used to make such an impression on
me that I could not help shedding tears. Now
the sound of the organ always reminds me of my
father's loss.
At that period, my father was in the habit of
gathering together in the evening several artists
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
and men of letters. Foremost among these was
Doyen, the painter of historical subjects. He was
my father's intimate companion and my first
friend. (Doyen was the best man in the world,
full of wit and sagacity. His appreciations of
men and things were always perfectly true. More-
over, he used to speak about painting with so
much warmth that he made my heart beat.)
Another celebrity was Poinsinet, who was very
witty and gay. Perhaps you have heard talk of
his amazing credulity. It was continually laying
him open to the weirdest mystifications. One
day, for instance, he allowed himself to be per-
suaded that there existed the office of Fire-screener
to the King. Accordingly, he was placed before
a fire fierce enough to roast his calves. However
much he desired to get away from the heat, he
told : " Don't stir ! You must get accus-
was
tomed to the great heat, otherwise you will not
get the office ! " Nevertheless, Poinsinet was far
from being a fool. Several of his works are still
admired nowadays, and he was the first man of
letters to obtain three dramatic successes the same
evening : Ernelide^ at the Grand Opera ; Le
CerclCi at the Theatre Frangais ; and Tom Jones,
at the Op^ra Comique. Someone said regarding
Le Cercle, in which the society of that period is
so well portrayed, that Poinsinet must have eaves-
dropped at the doors. Poinsinet's end was most
tragic. Somebody gave him the taste for travel.
He started with Spain and perished in crossing the
Guadalquivir.
15
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
I must mention a man called Davesne, painter
and poet, who was rather mediocre in both these
arts, but whose very witty conversation secured
for him the privilege of being admitted to my
father's evenings. Here is a sample of his verses,
which I have somehow always remembered and
which, I believe, have never been printed :
Plus n'est le temps, oil de mes seuls couplets
Ma Lise aimait a se voir celebree ;
Plus n'est le temps oil de mes seuls bouquets
Je la voyais toujours paree.
Les vers que I'amour me dictait
Ne repetaient que le nom de Lisette,
Et Lisette les ecoutait.
Plus d'un baiser payait ma chansonette j
Au mSme prix qui n'eut ete poete ? ^
Although I was little more than a child at the
time, I remember quite well how merry these
suppers of my father were. I was made to leave
the table before the dessert, but from my bedroom
I could hear the laughter, the mirth, and the songs,
of which I couldn't understand a word, it is true,
but which, for all that, made my holidays a time
of delight.
At the age of eleven I left the convent for
good, after having made my first Communion.
Davesne, who painted in oils, asked to be allowed
to teach me how to use the palette. His wife
* " Gone are the days when my Lise loved to see herself celebrated in my
verse alone. Gone are the days when I saw her adorned with my nosegays
alone. The verses dictated to me by Love knew no other name but Lisette,
and Lisette listened to them. Many a kiss was my song's reward. Who
would not have been a poet at the same price ? "
i6
Memoirs of Madame Elisaheth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
would take me to his house. They were so poor
that they filled me with sadness and pity. One
day, as I wished to finish painting a head I had
started, they made me stay to dinner with them.
It consisted of soup and some baked apples. I
think they never got a regular meal except when
they had supper at my father's.
I was immensely happy in not leaving my
parents any more. My brother, who was three
years younger than myself, was as beautiful as an
angel. His intelligence was far beyond his age.
He was so successful in his studies that he always
returned from school with the most flattering
reports. I was far from having his vivacity, wit,
and above all, his handsome face ; for at that
period of my life I was ugly. I had an enormous
forehead and deep-set eyes ; my nose was the
only pretty feature of my pale, thin face. Besides,
I had grown so rapidly that I found it impossible
to keep upright ; I bent like a reed. These
deficiencies grieved my mother. Indeed, I fancied
she had a weakness for my brother, for she pam-
pered him and readily forgave him his youthful
shortcomings, whereas she was very severe with
me. On the other hand, my father loaded me
with kindness and indulgence. His tenderness
endeared him more and more to my heart, so
much so that he is always before my mind, and
I do not think I have forgotten one word of what
he said in my presence. How often did I recall
in 1789 the following trait as though it were a
sort of prophecy ! One day, as my father was
B 17
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise VigSe-Le Brun
coming away from a dinner of the Intellectuals,
at which Diderot, Helvetius, and d'Alembert were
present, he seemed so sad that my mother asked
him what was the matter. " All what I've just
heard, my dear friend," he replied, *' makes me
think that the world will soon be upside down."
i8
CATHERINE II, EMPRESS OF RUSSIA.
Dranvn by G. Rotari.
To face p. 19.
CHAPTER II
Death of my father — Our sorrow — I work in Briard's atelier —
Joseph Fernet ; the advice he gave me — The Ahhe Arnault —
/ visit picture-galleries — My mother marries again — My step-
father — / paint portraits — Count Orloff- — Count Shouvaloff- —
Fisit of Mme Geoffrin — The Duchess de Chartres — The
Palais Royal — Mile Duthe — Mile Boquet.
HITHERTO, MY DEAR FRIEND, I have
told you of my joys alone ; I must now
tell you of the first affliction which my
heart suffered, the first sorrow I experienced.
I had just spent a year of happiness in my
parents' house, when my father fell ill. He had
swallowed a fish-bone, which lodged in his stomach
and necessitated several incisions in order to ex-
tract it. The operations were carried out by the
cleverest surgeon of the time, a Brother Come,
in whom we had the fullest confidence, and who
looked like a saint. Notwithstanding the great
devotion with which he looked after my father,
the wounds festered, and at the end of two months*
ufl^'ering my father's condition left no hope of
'ecovery. My mother wept day and night. As
or myself, I will not attempt to describe my
desolation : I was about to lose the best of fathers,
my support, my guide, the one whose indulgence
encouraged my first attempts !
19
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
When he realized his end was approaching, my
father sent for my brother and me. We went up
to the bed, sobbing. His face was terribly altered ;
his eyes and facial expression, which had always
been so lively, showed no longer any movement.
The paleness and chill of death had already taken
possession of him. We took his icy hand and
covered it with kisses mingled with our tears.
He made an effort to raise himself in order to
bestow his blessing upon us. ** Be happy, my
children," he said. An hour later our excellent
father was no more (May 9, 1768).
My sorrow was so overwhelming that I was
unable to return to my painting for a long time.
Doyen often came to see us. As he had been
my father's closest friend, his visits brought us
great consolation. It was owing to his persuasion
that I resumed my beloved occupation, which, in
fact, proved to be the only distraction capable of
assuaging my sorrow and reclaiming me from
my sad thoughts. It was about that time that 1
commenced painting from nature. I made several
portraits in pastels and oils. I also drew from
nature and from casts, mostly by lamp-light, with
Mile Boquet, whose acquaintance I had then
made. I used to visit her in the evening at hei
house in the Rue St. Denis, facing the Rue de
la Truanderie, where her father kept a curiosity
shop. The distance was fairly long, as we wert
living in the Rue de Clery opposite the Luben
mansion ; so my mother always had me accom-
panied.
20
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Mile Boquet and I would often betake ourselves,
for the purpose of drawing, to the house of Briard,
the painter, who lent us his models and ancient
busts. Briard was an indifferent painter, although
he executed several ceilings remarkable for their
composition. He was, however, a very fine
sketcher, a fact which induced several young
people to take lessons from him. He lived at the
Louvre. In order to draw as long as possible,
we both used to take our lunch with us in
a small basket carried by a maid. I still remember
how we treated ourselves by buying from the
concierge of one of the doors of the Louvre pieces
of bceuj a la mode, which were so excellent that I
cannot recall having ever eaten anything better.
Mile Boquet was then eleven years old, while
I was fourteen. We vied with each other in
beauty ; for I have forgotten to tell you, dear
friend, I had undergone a metamorphosis and
grown pretty. Her capabilities for painting were
remarkable, while my own progress was so rapid
that I began to be talked about among people
with the result that I had the satisfaction of making
the acquaintance of Joseph Vernet. That cele-
brated artist gave me great encouragement and
excellent advice. ** My child," he said, " don't
follow any system of school. Only consult the
works of the great Italian and Flemish masters.
But above all, work as much as you can from
nature. Nature is the first of all masters. If
you study it carefully, you will avoid falling into
mannerisms."
21
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
I have always followed his advice, for I have
never had an actual master. As for Joseph Vernet,
he proved the excellence of his method by his
works, which have always been and will be
rightly admired.
About that time I also made the acquaintance
of the Abb^ Arnault, of the French Academy.
He possessed a rich imagination and was pas-
sionately fond of good literature and the Arts,
and it was to his conversation that I owe my
enrichment in ideas, if I may use such an expres-
sion. He spoke of painting and music with the
liveliest enthusiasm. He was an ardent supporter
of Gluck, and later on brought that musician to
my house ; for I also loved music passionately.
My mother grew proud of my looks and figure,
as I had begun to put on flesh and show the
freshness of youth. She would take me to the
Tuileries on Sundays. She was herself still very
beautiful, and since so many years have passed
since then, I can tell you now that we were followed
about in such a way that I was much more em-
barrassed thereby than flattered.
Perceiving that I was still under the impres-
sion of my cruel loss, my mother took it into her
head to lead me round the picture-galleries. She
showed me the Luxembourg Palace, where the
gallery then contained some masterpieces by
Rubens, while many rooms were full of the
greatest masters.^ These pictures have since been
' At present the pictures of modern French painters are displayed there
I am the only one to have nothing in this collection (1835).
22
STUDY OF A HEAD.
Dranvn by Madame he Brun (Muse'e du Lowvre).
To face p. 23.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
removed to the Museum, while those of Rubens
lose much by being no longer seen in the place
where they were made ; well or badly lighted
pictures are like well or badly performed plays.
We used also to pay visits to private collections.
Randon de Boisset possessed a gallery of Flemish
and French pictures. The Duke of Praslin and
the Marquis de Levis had rich collections of the
great masters of every school. M. Harent de
Presle had a great number of Italian masters ;
but none of these collections could be compared
with that of the Palais Royal, which was brought
together by the Regent and contained so many
masterpieces of Italy. It was sold at the time of
the Revolution, the greater part being purchased
by Lord Stafford.
As soon as I set foot inside one of these rich
galleries I could be truly compared to a bee, so
many were the bits of knowledge and useful
remembrances that I gathered for my art while
intoxicating myself with delight in the contem-
plation of the great masters. Moreover, in order
to strengthen my grasp, I copied several Rubens,
some heads by Rembrandt and Van Dyck, to-
gether with girls' heads' by Greuze, because the
latter were extremely helpful in explaining the
half-tones to be found in delicate flesh colours.
Van Dyck also shows them, but more finely.
To this work I owe the important study of the
gradation of light on the outstanding parts of
the head. I have always admired this gradation
in the heads of Raphael, which assemble, it is
23
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
true, all the perfections. It is only in Rome,
under the beautiful sky of Italy, that one can
really judge Raphael. When I was able later
on to see those of his masterpieces which have
never left their native land, I found Raphael
superior to his immense renown.
My father left no fortune ; but I was already
earning a good deal of money, having lots of
portraits to paint. This, however, was insufficient
to pay the expenses of our household, especially
as I had to pay my brother's college fees, provide
him with clothes, books, etc. So my mother
found herself obliged to marry again. She married
a rich jeweller, whom we had never suspected of
avarice, yet who turned out immediately after
the marriage to be so mean that he denied us
even the necessary, although I was good-natured
enough to give him all that I earned. Joseph
Vernet was very much upset about it. He con-
stantly urged me to pay a fixed sum for my board
and lodging and to keep the remainder. I did
nothing of the sort, however, fearing lest my
mother would have to suffer from such a skin-
flint.
I detested that man, the more so because he
had taken possession of my father's wardrobe and
wore his clothes without even troubling to have
them adjusted to his own requirements. You can
well imagine, my dear friend, what a sad impression
he made on me.
As I have already mentioned, I had many
portraits to paint, and my budding reputation
24
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
already brought me the visits of a number of
strangers. Several important Russians came to
see me, among others the famous Count Orlojff,
one of the assassins of Peter III. He was a
colossal man, and I remember he wore an enormous
diamond on his finger.
I painted almost at once the portrait of Count
ShouvalofF. He was then about sixty years old,
I believe, and had been the lover of Elisabeth II.
He united a benevolent politeness with a perfect
manner, and as he was an excellent man, he was
much sought after by the best people.
About the same time I received a visit from
Mme Geoffrin, the woman who is celebrated for
her salon. She used to gather together at her
house all the most distinguished men of letters
and artists, outstanding foreigners, and the highest
gentlemen of the Court. Without birth, talents,
or even much of a fortune, she had carved out for
herself an unequalled position in Paris that no
woman could arrive at nowadays. Having heard
of me, she came to see me one morning and told
me most flattering things about my person and
talent. Although she was not very old at the
time, I should have thought she was a hundred.
Not only was she slightly bent, but her costume
made her look much older. She wore an iron-
grey dress and a big butterfly bonnet, decked
with a black kerchief fastened under the chin.
Nowadays, women of a similar age know how to
make themselves look younger by the care they
bestow on their toilette.
25
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
Immediately after my mother's marriage, we
went to live at my stepfather's house in the Rue
St. Honore, opposite the terrace of the Palais
Royal, on to which my windows opened. I often
saw the Duchess de Chartres walking about the
garden with her ladies, and I soon noticed that
she looked at me in a kind and interested manner.
I had just finished my mother's portrait, which
was causing a great stir. The Duchess sent for
me to paint her at her apartments. She inspired
all about her with the extreme benevolence she
showed towards my youthful talent, so that it
was not long before I was visited by the great
and beautiful Countess de Brionne and her daughter,
the Princess de Lorraine, who was extremely
beautiful, and then by all the great ladies of the
Court and the Faubourg Saint Germain.
Since I have gone so far, dear friend, as to own
that I was always stared after at the promenades
and shows, even to the extent of being mobbed,
you can readily understand that several admirers
of my looks made me paint theirs in the hope of
securing my pleasure. I was, however, so much
taken up with my art that I could by no means
be distracted from it. Moreover, the moral and
religious principles which my mother had taught
me were a shield against the seductions around
me. I was lucky not to have read a single
romance so far. The first I read [Clarissa Howe,
which interested me enormously) was after my
marriage. Till then I read nothing but books of
piety, the moral teaching of the Holy Fathers
26
MOTHER-LOVE.
A portrait of Madame Le Bruit and her daughter.
To face p 26.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
among others, of which I never grew tired, as
everything is in them, and a few class-books of
my brother.
With regard to the gentlemen, as soon as I
realized they wished to make eyes at me, I painted
them with their gaze averted ; which prevents
the sitter from looking at the painter. At the
least movement of their pupils in my direction, I
would say : " I'm doing the eyes." That would
annoy them a little, as you can imagine, but my
mother, who was always with me and in my con-
fidence, would laugh to herself. ^
After hearing High Mass on Sundays and
festivals, my mother and stepfather would take
me to the Palais Royal for a walk. At that time
the park was infinitely larger and more beautiful
than it is at present, stifled and shrunk by the
houses surrounding it on all sides. On the left-
hand side there was a very broad and long avenue
of enormous trees, which formed an overhead
vault impenetrable to the sun's rays. It was
there that fashion assembled in very grand attire.
The lesser lights took refuge at a distance under
the chess-board trees.
The Opera was close by in those days, bordering
on the Palace. In summer, the show ended at
half-past eight o'clock, and all the elegant people
came out, even before the end, to walk about
I The Marquis de Choiseul was one of them, and this fact roused my
indignation, for he had just married the prettiest person in the world. She
iw^as called Mile Raby, an American, aged sixteen. I do not believe anything
imore perfect has ever been seen.
27
Memoirs of Madame Elisaheth Louise Vigie-Le Brun
the grounds. It was the fashion for women to
carry very large nosegays, which, together with
the scented powders on their hair, literally em-
balmed the air one breathed. Later, though before
the Revolution, I have known these gatherings
continue till two in the morning. There were
musical performances by moonlight in the open.
Amateurs and artists, among others Garat and
Azevedo, used to sing, while others played the
harp and guitar. The famous Saint-Georges
played the violin. There was always a dense
crowd.
It was there that I first saw the pretty and
elegant Mile Duthe, who was walking in the
company of other kept women. It was not ad-
missible in those days for a man to appear in
public with those young ladies. If men joined
them at the show, it was always in boxes behind
grills. The English are much less delicate on
that score. This same Mile Duthe was often
accompanied by an Englishman, who was so
faithful that I saw them together at the show in
London eighteen years afterwards. The English-
man's brother was with him, and I was told that
they all three lived together. You have no idea,
my dear, what the kept women of that period
were like. Mile Duthe, for instance, swallowed
up millions of money. Nowadays the position
of a courtesane is a lost one : no one thinks <
ruining himself for a girl.
The latter word reminds me of a saying of the
Duchess de Chartres, whose naivet^ I like. I
28
viMJ:
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
have already mentioned to you that princess, a
worthy daughter of the virtuous and beneficent
Duke de Penthievre. Some time after her mar-
riage she was standing at the window, when one
of her gentlemen, seeing some of those girls go
by, remarked : *' There are some girls." — " How
can you know they are not married ? " asked the
Duchess in all her candid ignorance.
It was impossible for Mile Boquet and me to
walk down that great avenue of the Palais Royal
without attracting attention. We were then be-
tween sixteen and seventeen years old. Mile
Boquet was very beautiful. At nineteen she had
smallpox, the news of which affliction awoke such
interest in all classes of society that crowds of
people flocked to make inquiries after her condi-
tion, while a large number of carriages were
constantly at her door. In those days Beauty
was in truth a thing of celebrity. Mile Boquet
was remarkably gifted for painting, but she aban-
doned it almost entirely after she had married
M. Filleul, when the Queen appointed her wardress
of the Chateau de la Muette.
How can I mention this lovable woman to you
without recalling her tragic end } Alas ! I re-
member that when I was on the point of leaving
France in order to escape the horror I foresaw,
Mme Filleul said to me : " You are wrong to
leave. I will stay, because I believe in the happi-
ness which the Revolution will bring us."
And that Revolution led her to the scaffold !
She was still at the Chateau de la Muette when
29
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
the time came which is so justly called the Terror.
Mme Chalgrin, daughter of Joseph Vernet and
the intimate friend of Mme Filleul, went to the
chateau to celebrate her daughter's marriage, with-
out any fuss, as you can well imagine. Never-
theless, on the following day the revolutionaries
found a pretext for arresting Mme Chalgrin and
Mme Filleul, who were accused of burning the
candies of the nation. They were both guillotined
a few days later.
Here I will end this sad letter.
30
THE PALACE GALLERY.
To face p. 30.
hti armrfMir'MiiiiinnirBMfti'iiaiilftteiilii
CHAPTER III
My walks — The Colisee, the Vauxhall d'Eie — Marly, Sceaux —
My society in Paris — The sculptor Le Moine — Gerbier —
The Princess de Rohan- Rochefort — The Countess de Brionne —
Cardinal de Rohan — M. de Rulhieres — The Duke de Lawzun
— 1 offer to the French Academy the portraits of Cardinal
de Fleury and de la Bruyere — d^ Alemherf s letter and visit
on that occasion,
I WILL GO ON, dear friend, with the story
of my outings in what I may call old Paris
on account of the great many changes which
that city has undergone since the days of my
youth. One of the most frequented promenades
was that of the Boulevards du Temple. Every
day, especially Thursday, saw hundreds of car-
riages coming and going or standing about the
avenues where there are now cafes and parades.
Young people on horseback pranced about them,
as at Longchamp, which was already in existence.^
The avenues and side-walks were crowded with
strollers enjoying the pleasure of admiring or
criticizing the beautiful ladies in grand attire who
passed by in their brilliant equipages.
I It was even very brilliant. The kept girls spent fortunes in order to
eclipse the rest of the world. One used to talk of a certain Mile Renard,
who appeared one day in a carriage drawn by four horses in harnesses
covered with sham jewels, the diamonds being indistinguishable from real
31
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigie-Le Brun
One side of the boulevard, where the Cafe
Turc is now situated, afforded a sight which
made me burst into fits of laughter many a time.
It was a long row of old women from the Marais
Institution, all solemnly sitting on chairs, and
whose cheeks were so daubed with rouge that
they looked like dolls. As at that time only
women of high rank were permitted to wear red,
these ladies considered themselves obliged to exer-
cise the privilege to its fullest extent. One of
our friends who was acquainted with most of
them, told us their only occupation was playing
lotto from morn to night and that coming back
from Versailles one day, he was asked for news
by some of them. He replied that M. de La
Perouse was about to start out on a journey round
the world. " Indeed ! " exclaimed the mistress of
the house, " that man must be sadly in need of
ajob!"
Later on, a good while after my marriage, I
went to many shows on that boulevard. The
one I saw and enjoyed most was that of the puppets
of Carlo Perico. These marionettes were so
well made and so dexterously manipulated that
they sometimes achieved a perfect illusion. My
daughter, who was six years old at most, and whom
I took with me, had no doubt at first of their
being alive. When I told her the contrary, I
remember taking her a few days later to the
Comedie Fran9aise, where my box was fairly
remote from the stage. " And those. Mamma,"
she said to me, " are they alive } "
32
Memoirs of Madame Elisaheth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
The Colisee was still a very fashionable place
of gathering. It consisted of an immense circle
built in one of the great squares of the Champs
Elysees. In the middle was a lake of limpid
water on which boating tournaments took place.
People strolled about the broad, sandy avenues
which were ornamented with seats. At nightfall,
everybody left the garden and entered an immense
hall where an excellent programme of music was
provided every evening. Mile Lemaure, a celebrity
of that time, sang there several times, as did also
many other famous women singers. The broad
terrace which led to this hall was the rendezvous
of all the gilded youth of Paris, who stood under
the lighted porch and let no woman pass without
making her the subject of an epigram. One
evening as I was coming down the steps with my
mother, the Duke de Chartres, since known as
Philippe-Egalite, stood there with his arm in
that of the Marquis de Genlis, his companion in
orgy, while the unfortunate women who attracted
their attention did not escape the most infamous
sarcasms. " Ah ! as for that one," said the Duke
in a very loud voice as he pointed to me, " there's
nothing to be said." This remark, which was
heard by many persons besides myself, gave me
so great a satisfaction that I remember it even
to-day with a certain amount of pleasure.
About the same time there existed on the
Boulevard du Temple a place called the Vauxhall
i'Et^, the garden of which was nothing more
Jian a large space for walking about in, and
c 33
^E ) PALI GFTTY MUSEUM
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bruft
round which were covered tiers where fine people
used to sit. They forgathered in the daytime
in summer, and the evening would end up with a
very fine display of fireworks.
All these places were even more fashionable
than Tivoli is at present. It is somewhat sur-
prising that Parisians, whose only promenades are
the Tuileries and the Luxembourg Gardens, should
have abandoned these half-urban, half-rural estab-
lishments where one could go for a breath of air
and ices in the evening.
My wretched stepfather — annoyed, no doubt, by
the public tributes to my mother's beauty and
I venture to say, to my own as well — forbade uj
to go to the promenades, and told us one day
that he was going to rent a country house. My
heart beat for joy at the announcement, for J
was deeply in love with the country. I wish
all the more to stay there as I felt a great neec
for it, since I was then sleeping at the foot oj
my mother's bed, in an alcove where the daylighi
never penetrated. Indeed, the first thing I die
in the morning in all weathers was to open th(
window for a breath of fresh air.
So my stepfather rented a little house at Chaillot
and we used to go there on Saturday, returning
to Paris on Monday morning. Heavens ! what 5
country house ! Just imagine, my dear, a tin]
vicarage garden ; no trees, no other shelter frorr
the sun except a little bower where my stepfathe;
had planted some beans and nasturtiums whict
wouldn't grow. Moreover, we had only a quartei
34
yik feet
,ajjMB^3i^igggBi
iiMinTiniftn jTii m rniimi
WAVERING VIRTUE.
¥rom the painting by Madame he Brun.
To face p. 35.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
of that charming garden, for it was divided into
four by small sticks, the three other parts being
let to some shop-fellows, who amused themselves
there every Sunday with bird-shooting. The per-
petual noise of this brought me into a state of
despair. Besides which, I was dreadfully afraid
of being killed by the clumsy fellows, who couldn't
shoot straight at all.
I could not understand how one could call so
miserable a place a country house. I found it so
wearisome that I yawn at the very memory of it
in writing this. At last, however, my guardian
angel sent me a friend of my mother's, Mme
Suzanne, who came to dine at Chaillot with her
lusband one day. They felt sorry for me and
my weariness, and sometimes took me out for
wonderful excursions. Unfortunately M. Suzanne
could not be relied upon to come every Sunday,
as he suffered from a strange disease. Every
other day he would shut himself up in his room,
refusing to see anybody, even his wife, and de-
clining to speak or eat. The next day, however,
he would recover his merriment and habitual
planners. So it was necessary to keep oneself
well posted with the state of his health in order
to make any arrangements with him.
We went first of all to Marly-le-Roi, and there
[ realized for the first time how enchanting a
place could be. On each side of the superb
bateau were six pavilions, connected with each
)ther by tunnels of jasmine and honeysuckle.
Vlagnificent cascades of water fell from a mountain
35
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
at the rear of the chateau and formed an immense
lake on which swam graceful swans. The fine
trees, clumps of verdure, fountains and spirts of
water, one of which rose so high that it was lost
from sight, were all on a grand, majesdc scale
that reminded one of Louis XIV. The sight of
this ravishing abode made such an impression on
me that I often returned there after my marriage.
One morning I met the Queen walking in the
park with several ladies of her Court. They
were all wearing white dresses and were so young
and pretty that they looked like an apparition.
I was with my mother, and started to go away,
when the Queen very kindly stopped me and
desired me to go on walking wherever I pleased.
Alas ! when I returned to France in 1802, I
hastened to see my noble, laughing Marly once
again. Palace, trees, cascades, fountain, every-
thing had disappeared.
M. and Mme Suzanne took me to see the
chateau and park at Sceaux. The section of the
park adjoining the chateau was laid out in
regular fashion with lawns and flower-beds like
the garden of the Tuileries. The other secdor
had no symmetrical design, but a great stretch o:
water and the finest trees I have ever seen mad«
it much more preferable, in my opinion. Th<
goodness of the owner of that magnificent abod<
was shown by the fact that the park was open tc
the public. The Duke de Penthievre had alway
desired that the public should be admitted. 0\
Sundays especially, the park was much frequented
36
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
It was very distressing for me to leave those
magnificent gardens in order to return to our
sad Chaillot. However, with the arrival of winter
we went to Paris, where I made pleasant use of
the time which my work left me. Since the age
of fifteen I had been going about in high society.
I was acquainted with our foremost artists and
received invitations on all sides. I well remember
dining for the first time in town with the sculptor
Le Moine, who was then much in vogue. He
was extremely simple, but he showed good taste
in gathering under his roof a great number of
famous and distinguished men. His two daughters
carried out the role of hostesses to perfection.
It was there that I saw the celebrated Lekain,
who frightened me with his lowering, wild aspect,
his enormous eyebrows augmenting the graceless
expression of his face. He never spoke, but ate
enormously. Next to him and opposite me sat
the prettiest woman in Paris, Mme de Bonneuil
(mother of Mme Regnault Saint-Jean d'Angely),
who was as fresh as a rose. Her gentle beauty was
so charming that I was unable to take my eyes off
her, especially as she had been placed near my
husband, who was as ugly as a monkey, while the
faces of Lekain and M. de Bonneuil formed a sort
of double foil, which she certainly did not require.
It was at Le Moine's house that I made the
acquaintance of Gerbier, the celebrated advocate.
Mme de Roissy, his daughter, was very beautiful
and one of the first women I painted. Gretry
,and Letour, the famous pastel painter, were often
37
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
present at these dinners, which were very merry.
It was the custom of the time to sing at dessert.
Mme de Bonneuil, who had a charming voice,
sang duets by Gretry with her husband, after
which came the turn of the young ladies, who, it
must be admitted, felt like martyrs. They were
seen to grow pale, tremble and often sing out of
tune. In spite of these little discords, the dinner
would end in merriment and one went away with
regret, being loath to call for one's carriage on
rising from table as is done nowadays.
I cannot, however, speak of the dinners of to-
day except from hearsay, as a short while after
the one I have mentioned I gave up dining out.
The daylight hours were really too valuable for
me to sacrifice them to society, while a little event
occurred which made me decide of a sudden
never to go out at night again. I had accepted
an invitation to dine with the Princess de Rohan-
Rochefort. When I was dressed and ready to
enter my carriage, the idea occurred to me to
take another look at a portrait I had commenced
that morning. I was wearing a white satin dress,
which I had put on for the first time. I sat down
on a chair in front of my easel entirely unaware
that my palette was on it. My dress was in such
a state when I got up that I was obliged to stay
at home, and from that time I resolved never-
more to accept invitations except to supper.
The suppers of the Princess de Rohan-Rochefor
were charming. Her society was chiefly mad<
up of the beautiful Countess de Brionne, hei
38
.." J--^-' *• ' Alt'
iMMIiilllMMItolh^MkMHtlMiillii
'* f* ' i V PROMJ- > MM li'< SLl ' ^ 1*' ^ I V
THE EVENING PROMENADE.
To face p, 39.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
daughter, the Princess de Lorraine, the Duke de
Choiseul, Cardinal de Rohan, M. de Rulhieres,
author of Les Disputes. But the most likeable of
all the guests was undoubtedly the Duke de
Lauzun, whose wit and merriment were beyond
compare and charmed everybody. The evening
was often spent with music and sometimes I sang,
accompanying myself with a guitar. Supper was
at half-past ten, and never more than ten or
twelve sat down at table. The guests vied with
one another in wit and pleasantness. I could
only listen, as you may readily understand, and
although I was too young to appreciate the charm of
the conversation, I found it put me off many others.
I have often told you, my dear friend, that my life
as a girl was like no other. Not only was I received
and sought after in the salons on account of my
talent, weak though I found it in comparison with
the great masters, but I sometimes received proofs of
public good will, so to speak, which gave me much
joy, I frankly admit. For instance, having made the
portraits of Cardinal de Fleury and La Bruyere from
some engravings of the time, I offered them to the
French Academy, who sent me back the following
letter through d'Alembert, the chief secretary :
Mademoiselle,
The French Academy has received with all possible
acknowledgment the letter which you have addressed to it,
together with the beautiful portraits of Fleury and La Bruyere
which you have kindly sent it in order that they may be hung
in its assembly hall, where it has long desired to see them. In
reproducing for it the features of two men whose name it holds
39
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
in high esteem, these two portraits will constantly remind it,
Mademoiselle, of all that it owes and is flattered to owe to you.
Moreover, they will provide it with a lasting monument of your
rare talents with which it was acquainted through the voice of
the public and which are enhanced in you by wit, graciousness,
and the most agreeable modesty.
Wishing to reply to so praiseworthy an action as yours in the
most fitting manner, the company begs you. Mademoiselle, to
accept the right of entry to all its public assemblies. This was
unanimously resolved upon at its assembly yesterday, and was
immediately inserted in its registers, while I was charged to
convey the assembly's decision to you and to offer you its thanks.
This commission is all the more agreeable to me because it affords
me the opportunity to assure you, Mademoiselle, of my high
esteem for your talents and person, an esteem which I share
with all persons of good taste and sound reason.
I have the honour respectfully to be, Mademoiselle, your very
humble and very obedient servant,
d'Alembert,
Permanent Secretary to the French Academy.
Paris, August lo, 1775.
The offer of these two portraits to the Academy
soon brought me the honour of a visit from
d'Alembert, a small, cold, and dry man though
meticulously polite. He stayed a long time and
inspected my atelier, saying all sorts of flattering
things to me. I have never forgotten how, just
after his departure, a grand lady who had been
present, asked me whether I had painted from
nature the portraits of La Bruyere and Fleury
that had just been talked about. " I'm a little
too young for that," I replied, unable to suppress
a laugh, but very glad for the poor lady's sake
that the Academician was no longer present.
40
CHAPTER IV
My marriage — 1 receive ■pupils ; Mme Benoist — / give the school
up — My portraits ; how I arrange the dresses — The French
Academy — My daughter — The Duchess de Mazarin — The
Ambassadors of Tippoo-Sahib — / paint their portraits — They
entertain me to dinner.
Y STEPFATHER having retired from
business, we went to reside at a mansion
called Lubert, in the Rue de Clery. M.
Le Brun had just bought this house and was
living there. As soon as we were settled, I went
to see the magnificent pictures of every school
Df painting with which his apartment was filled.
I was delighted to have a neighbour who afforded
nne every chance of consulting the works of the
^reat masters. M. Le Brun was extremely kind
.n lending me pictures of admirable beauty and
are value for the purpose of making copies. It
A^as to him, therefore, that I owed the strongest
essons I was able to get, till at the end of six
nonths he begged for my hand in marriage. I
A^as far from any wish to marry, although he
vas very well made and good-looking. I was
htn twenty years old and leading a life free from
my anxiety as to my future, for I was earning
I good deal of money and felt no desire whatever
:o get married. But my mother, who thought
41
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
M. Le Brun to be very rich, unceasingly urged
me not to refuse such a profitable match, and al
last I consented to the marriage,^ desiring above
all to escape from the torment of living with my
stepfather, whose bad humour had grown more
and more each day since his idleness. So small,
however, was my enthusiasm to give up my freedom,
that on the way to the church I kept saying tc
myself : " Shall I say yes ? Shall I say no ? '* Alas.
I said ** yes," and changed my old troubles for nev\
ones.
Not that M. Le Brun was a bad man : hii
character showed a mixture of gentleness anc
vivacity ; he was very obliging towards everybody—
in a word, likeable enough ; but his unbridlec
passion for women of bad morals, joined to hi
fondness for gambling, brought about the ruii
of his fortune as well as mine, which was entirel]
in his keeping. Indeed, when I left France ii
1789, 1 had not so much as twenty francs of income
though I had earned more than a million. H^
had squandered the lot.
For some time my marriage was kept secret
M. Le Brun had intended marrying the daughte:
of a Dutchman with whom he did much busines
in paintings, and begged me not to announo
our marriage until he concluded his affairs,
agreed to this with all the more willingness because
I regretted giving up my maiden name, by whicl
I was very well known. Though the myster
lasted but a short while, it was destined to hav
I January 11, 1776, at the church of St. Eustache, Paris.
42
<
'
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
an evil effect on my future. Many persons, under
the impression that I was merely about to marry
M. Le Brun, visited me with the purpose of
dissuading me from such a foolish act. One of
them was Aubert, the Crown jeweller, who said
to me in a friendly manner : " You would do
better to tie a stone round your neck and throw
yourself into the river than to marry Le Brun.'*
Another was the Duchess d'Aremberg, accom-
panied by Mme de Canillac and Mme de Souza,
wife of the Portuguese Ambassador, all three so
young and pretty, who brought me their tardy
advice a fortnight after my marriage. " In the
name of Heaven," said the Duchess, " don't marry
M. Le Brun. You would be too unhappy ! "
Then she related to me a lot of things which
I was lucky enough not to believe altogether,
although they have since turned out to be only
too true ; but my mother, who was present,
could scarcely hold back her tears.
Finally the announcement of my marriage put
an end to these sad warnings, from which my
habitual gaiety had suffered litde, thanks to my
dear painting. I was unable to cope with all
the demands for portraits which poured in from
all quarters, and although M. Le Brun had already
acquired the habit of pocketing the fees, he even
took it into his head to make me take some pupils
in order to increase our income. I yielded to
his wish without troubling to think it over, and
I soon had several young ladies to whom I
showed how to paint eyes, noses and faces, which
43
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
constantly needed touching up, much to my disgust
and the neglect of my own work.
One of my pupils was Mile Emilie De La Ville
Le Roulx, who afterwards married M. Benoist,
Director of Law, and for whom Demoustiers
wrote Lettres sur la Mythologie, She made pastel
paintings of heads, in which one could already
discern the talent which has given her a just
celebrity. Mile Emilie was the youngest of my
pupils, most of whom were older than myself, a
fact which detracted enormously from the respect
which the head of a school should impose. I
had set up the atelier of these young ladies in a
disused hayloft, the ceiling of which displayed
very thick beams. One morning I discovered
my pupils had tied a rope to one of the beams
and were swinging to their hearts' content. I
put on a serious look and reproved them, making
a superb speech on wasting time ; whereupon d
felt a strong desire to try the swing myself and
was soon amusing myself on it more than all the
others. You can imagine that such manners made
it very difficult for me to overawe my pupils,
and this inconvenience, together with the tedium
of returning to the A B C of my art in correcting
their studies, soon obliged me to give the school up.
The obligation to leave my dear atelier for a
few hours increased, I believe, my fondness for
work. I did not lay down my brushes till night
was quite fallen, and the number of portraits I
painted at that period is really amazing. As I
gready disliked the style of dress worn by the
44
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
women at that time, I did my best to make it a
little more picturesque, and whenever I obtained
the confidence of my models I delighted in draping
them after my fancy.
People had not yet taken to wearing shawls,
but I made use of large scarves, lightly interlaced
round the body and over the arms, whereby I
tried to imitate the beautiful style of the draperies
of Raphael and Dominichino, as you may have
noticed in several of my portraits in Russia,
especially in that of my Girl Playing the Guitar,
Moreover, I loathed the use of powder, I
persuaded the beautiful Duchess de Gramont-
Caderousse not to use any when sitting for her
portrait. I Her hair was as black as ebony, and I
divided it up into irregular curls on the forehead.
After my sitting, which ended at the hour of
dinner, the Duchess retained her coiffure and
went in it to the theatre. Such a pretty woman
was sure to set the tone, and indeed the fashion
grew gently, till at last it became general. This
reminds me that when I painted the Queen in
1786 I begged her not to put on any powder
and to part her hair on the forehead. " I shall
be the last to follow such a fashion," the Queen
^aid with laughter ; " I don't wish it to be said
that I have invented it in order to hide my large
forehead."
I tried as well as I could to give the women
painted the attitude and expression of their
physiognomy. As for those who had none, I
I Exhibited at the Salon of 1785.
45
Memoirs oj Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brut,
painted them like dreamers reclining heedlessly,
However, one must suppose they were satisfied,
for I was unable to cope with the demands. Ii
was difficult to get a place in my waiting list
In a word, I was the fashion. Everything seemec
to have conspired to make me so. You may well
judge of the fact from the following scene, whicl:
I always recall with flattery. Some time aftei
my marriage, I was present at a sitting of the
French Academy, when La Harpe read his speech
on the talents of women. When he came to the
following highly exaggerated lines, which I then
heard for the first time —
Le Brun, de la beaute le peintre et le modele,
Moderne Rosalba, mais plus brillante qu'elle,
Joint la voix de Favart au souris de Venus, etc. ^ —
the author of Warwick turned his gaze towards me,
Whereupon the entire public, not excepting the
Duchess de Chartres and the King of Sweden
who were present, stood up and faced me, applaud-
ing me so frantically that I was almost overcome
with confusion.
These pleasures of conceit, which I relate to
you, dear friend, because you demanded I should
tell you everything, cannot be compared to the
enjoyment I felt on learning, two years after my
marriage, that I was with child. But here you
will see how much I failed in foresight owing to
my extreme affection for my art, for in spite of
I " Le Brun, the painter and model of beauty,
The Rosalba of our days, but more brilliant than she.
Unites the voice of Favart with the smile of Venus," etc.
46
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise VigSe-Le Brun
my happiness at the idea of becoming a mother,
I let the nine months of my labour go by without
giving the least thought to the preparation of the
things necessary to child-birth. On the day my
daughter was born I did not quit my atelier, and
continued working at my Venus Tying the Wings
of Love, in the intervals between the throes.
Mme de Verdun, my oldest friend, came to
see me in the morning. She realized that I would
be brought to bed during the day, and as she
knew me, she asked me whether I was provided
vvith all that was necessary ; to which I replied,
ivith a look of astonishment, that I didn't know
It all what was necessary. *' That's just like you,"
she said, " you are a real boy. I warn you that
^ou will be brought to bed this evening." — " No,
|io ! " I exclaimed, " I have a sitting to-morrow,
will not go to bed to-day." Without troubling
reply, Mme de Verdun left me for a moment
send out for the man midwife, who arrived
ilmost at once. I sent him away, but he hid in
e house till the evening, when at ten o'clock
y daughter came into the world. I will not
Ittempt to describe the joy which overwhelmed
ne when I heard my baby cry. Every mother
:nows that joy ; it is all the more lively because
t is accompanied by the repose following the
ttrocious birth pangs. I think M. Dubois ex-
pressed the thought perfecdy when he said :
* Happiness is finding interest in calm."
During my pregnancy I had painted the
Duchess de Mazarin, who was no longer young,
47
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Bru\
but still beautiful. My daughter had the sam<
kind of eyes and resembled her amazingly. Thii
Duchess de Mazarin was said to have been endowec
at her birth by three fairies : Riches, Beauty, anc
Ill-Luck. It is perfectly true that the poor womar
could never undertake anything, not even giving
a party, without some misfortune or other turning
up. Many misfortunes of her life have beer
related, but here is one less known : One evening
while entertaining sixty persons to supper, sh
contrived to have on the table an enormous pie
in which a hundred small birds were shut up alive
At a sign from the Duchess the pie was opened anc
all the frantic little creatures flew out, dashing int(
faces and clinging to the hair of the women, wh(
were all carefully attired and hair-dressed. You cai
imagine the tempers, the shouts ! The unfortunat
birds could not be got rid of, and were such
nuisance that the guests were obliged to leave th
table, cursing such a foolish flight of fancy.
The Duchess de Mazarin had grown so ver
stout that it took ages to do up her corsets,
visitor coming to see her one day while she wa
being laced, one of her women ran to the doo
and cried out : " Don't come in till we've arranges
the rolls of flesh." I remember that this excessiv
plumpness aroused the admiration of the Turkis
Ambassadors. When they were asked at the Oper
which woman they liked best among those wh
filled the boxes, they replied without hesitatioi
that the Duchess de Mazarin was the mos
beautiful because she was the fattest.
48
t
temoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Talking of ambassadors, I must not forget to
ill you how I painted two diplomats, who in
)ite of being copper-coloured had splendid heads.
1 1788 ambassadors were sent to Paris by the
imperor Tippoo-Sahib. I saw these Indians at
le Opera, and they appeared to me so unusually
icturesque that I wished to paint their portraits,
taving informed them of my desire, I learnt
lat they would never consent to be painted
ccept at the request of the King, so I obtained
lis favour from His Majesty. I went with canvas
id colours to the house they were living at, for
ley wished to be painted at home. On my
rival one of them brought some rose-water and
irinkled it on my hands. Then the greater of
lem, who was called Davich Khan, gave me a
tting. I painted him standing with his hand
I his dagger. He posed so agreeably that I was
)le to do everything as it was — drapery, hands,
I put the picture in another room to dry
id began the portrait of the old ambassador
;ting with his son beside him. The father
pecially had a splendid head. Both were dressed
white muslin robes, sprinkled with gold flowers,
finished this picture at the time with the excep-
m of the background and the bottom of the
bes.
Mme de Bonneuil, to whom I had spoken of
y sittings, wanted very much to meet these
ibassadors. They invited us both to dinner,
d we accepted the invitation out of sheer
riosity. Entering the dining-room, we were
D 49
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brt
somewhat surprised to find the dinner served c
the floor, and we were thus obliged to do as the
did, lying almost flat round the low table. The
offered us with their hands what they took froi
the dishes, one of which contained a fricassee <
sheep's feet with white sauce, very spicy, while tl
other held a sort of ragout. As you can imagin
it was a sad meal. We loathed watching them u
their bronzed hands in the place of spoons.
These ambassadors had brought with them
young man who spoke French slighdy. Durir
the sittings Mme de Bonneuil taught him
sing Annette a Page de quinze ans. When v
went to take leave, this young man recited \
song and expressed his sorrow at leaving us, sa"
ing : " Ah ! how my heart weeps ! " Which
thought very Oriental and very well said.
When the portrait of Davich Khan was dry,
sent for it. He had hidden it, however, behii
his bed and refused to part with it, declarii
that a soul was due to inhabit it, according to t
Mahometan belief. This refusal gave rise
some pretty verses addressed to me, which I co;
here :
A Madame Le Brun.
Au sujet du portrait de Davich Khan et du prejuge des Orienti
contre la peinture.
Ce n'est point aux climats oCi regnent les sultans
Que le marbre s'anime et la toile respire.
Les prejuges de leurs imans
Du dieu des arts ont renverse I'empire.
50
I
1
Pi -5
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigie-Le Brun
lis ont reve qu'Allah, jaloux de nos talents,
Doit en jugeant les mondes et les ages
Donner una ame a ces images.
Qui sauvent la beaute des ravages du temps.
Sublime Allah ! tu ris de cette erreur impie !
Tu conviendras, voyant cette copie.
Oil I'art de la nature a surpris les secrets,
Que comme toi, le genie a ses flammes j
Et que Le Brun, en peignant des portraits,
Sait aussi leur donner une ame.^
I was unable to get hold of my picture except
y trickery. When the Ambassador discovered it
^as gone, he blamed his valet and wanted to kill
im. The interpreter was at his wits* end to
lake him understand that it was not usual to
ill one's valet in Paris, and he was obliged
) tell him that the King of France had asked
)r the portrait.
Both these pictures were hung at the Salon
1789. After the death of M. Le Brun, who
aimed all my works, they were sold and I do
ot know who owns them to-day.
» To Madame Le Brun.
apropos of the portrait of Dwvich Khan and the prejudice of Orientals against
painting.
" It is not in climates where the sultans reign that marble comes to life and
ivas breathes. The prejudices of their priests have overthrown the empire
the god of Art. They have imagined that at the day of judgment Allah,
ng jealous of our talents, must give a soul to likenesses, which save beauty
m the ravages of time. Sublime Allah ! Thou laughest at this impious
or ! Thou wilt agree, on seeing this copy, wherein Art has discovered
secrets of Nature, that, like Thee, genius has its lustre } and that Le Bruu,
painting portraits, knows how to give them a soul."
51
i^^S^^S^
CHAPTER V
The Queen — My sittings at Versailles — Various portraits of her
by me — Her kind-heartedness — Louis XVI — The last Court\
hall at Versailles — Princess Elisabeth — The King's brother —
The Princess de Lamballe.
IT WAS IN THE YEAR 1779, my dear
friend, that I painted my first portrait of
the Queen, who was then in all the glory of
her youth and beauty. Marie- Antoinette was tall,
admirably shaped, and fairly plump. Her arms
were superb, her hands small and of perfect shape,
while her feet were charming. She walked better
than any other woman in France, holding her
head well up with a majesty that stamped her as
sovereign in the midst of all her Court, without,
however, detracting in any way from what was
kind and gentle in her aspect. It is difficult,
however, to convey to anyone who never saw
the Queen an adequate idea of her noble traits
and many graceful qualities. Her features were
not at all regular ; she took after her family with
the long narrow face peculiar to the Austrian
nation. Her eyes were not large, and their colour
was almost blue^ Her expression was bright and
gentle, her nose fine and pretty, her mouth not
too big, though the lips were rather strong. The
52
Memoirs of Madame Elisaheth Louise Figee-Le Brun
most remarkable thing about her face was the
splendour of her complexion.
I have never seen another so brilliant; for
" brilliant " is the word : her skin was so transparent
that it had no shading. I was unable to reproduce
its effect to my satisfaction ; I lacked the colours
necessary to paint the freshness and fine tones,
which I have never found in any other woman.
At my first sitting, the Queen's imposing aspect
overawed me tremendously ; but Her Majesty
spoke to me so kindly that this impression was
soon dissipated. It was then that I painted the
portrait representing her with a large basket,
dressed in a satin robe and holding a rose in her
hand. This portrait was intended for her brother,
the Emperor Joseph II. The Queen ordered
two copies of it, one for the Empress of Russia,
the other for her apartments at Versailles or
Fontainebleau.
I painted several other portraits of the Queen
at various times. In one of them I merely painted
her as far as the knees, dressed in an orange-
coloured robe and standing before a table, on
which she was in the act of arranging some flowers
in a vase. It is easy to realize that I preferred
to paint her without grand attire and, above all,
without a large basket. These portraits were given
to her friends, some of them to ambassadors.
One of them shows her wearing a straw hat and
dressed in a white muslin robe, the sleeves of
which were crimpled crosswise but fairly tight.
When this portrait was exhibited at the Salon,
53
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
— — ^ .^
the evil-minded did not fail to say that the Queenl
had had herself painted en chemise ; for it was
the year 1786, and slander had already begun to
make her its butt.
Nevertheless, this portrait had a great success.
Tow^ards the end of the exhibition a little play,
called, I believe, La Reunion des Arts, was per-
formed at the Vaudeville. Brongniart the architect
and his wife, who were in the author's confidence,
engaged a box and came to fetch me for the first
performance. As I was entirely unaware of the
surprise which had been prepared for me, you
can judge of my emotion when the turn came to
Painting and I saw the actress copy me in a sur-
prising manner in the act of painting the Queen's
portrait. At the same moment everybody in the
boxes and parterre turned towards me and ap-
plauded me tumultuously. And I do not believe
it is possible for anyone to be so moved and grateful
as I was that evening.
The bashfulness I had felt at my first encounter
with the Queen completely yielded to the gracious
kindness which she always showed me. When
Her Majesty heard that I possessed a nice voicCj
she gave me few sittings without making me
accompany her in several of Gretry's duets ; for
she loved music immensely, though her voice was
not quite accurate. As for her conversation, it
would be hard for me to describe all its grace
and kindness. I do not believe Queen Marie-
Antoinette ever failed to say something pleasant
to those who had the honour of approaching herj
54
w
THE BOX AT THE OPERA.
After Moreau, junior.
To face p. 55.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
while the kindness she always showed to me is one
of my sweetest memories.
One day I happened to miss the appointment
for a sitting which she had fixed. I was then
well advanced in my second pregnancy and had
suddenly felt ill. The following day I hastened
to Versailles to offer my excuses. The Queen
was not expecting me and had ordered her coach
for a drive. The coach was the first thing I
noticed on entering the courtyard of the palace.
Nevertheless, I went up to speak to gentlemen of
the chamber. One of them, M. Campan,i received
me in a cold, blunt manner, saying in a loud,
angry voice : " It was yesterday. Madam, that
Her Majesty expected you, and it is quite certain
she is going for her drive and quite certain she
will not give you a sitting." When I replied
that I merely came to receive Her Majesty's
orders for another day, he went to the Queen,
who made me enter her cabinet at once. Her
Majesty was just finishing her toilet. She held a
book in her hand while going over a lesson with
her daughter. My heart beat fast, for I was as
much afraid as I was wrong. The Queen turned
towards me and said very sweetly : *' I waited
for you all the morning yesterday. What hap-
pened to you ? " — *' Alas ! Madam," I replied,
" I was so unwell that it was impossible for me to
obey Your Majesty's orders. I have come to-day
I This M. Campan was always talking about the Queen. Once, when he
was dining at my house, my daughter, who was then seven years old, said to
me very softly : " Mamma, is that gentleman the King ? "
ss
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
in order to receive them, and will go away at
once." — *' No ! no ! Don't go away ! " replied
the Queen. *' I will not allow you to make this
journey for nothing." She dismissed her carriage
and gave me a sitting.
I remember that in my anxiety to respond to
this kindness I took hold of my box of paints
with such eagerness that it was upset. My brushes
and pencils were scattered on the floor. I stooped
to pick them up. *' Leave them, leave them ! "
said the Queen. " You are too far gone with
child to stoop." And in spite of all I could say,
she picked them all up herself.
When the Court paid its last visit to Fontaine-
bleau in grand style, as custom demanded, I went
to enjoy the sight. I saw the Queen in grand
attire, covered with diamonds. In the brilliant
sunshine she seemed to me really dazzling. As
she walked along, her head, uplifted on its beautiful
Greek neck, made her look so imposing and
majestic that one was reminded of a goddess in
the midst of her nymphs.
At the first sitting Her Majesty gave me on
her return from that journey, I ventured to mention
the impression I had received and to tell the
Queen how much die nobility of her aspect was
enhanced by the high bearing of her head. She
replied in a joking manner : " If I were not
Queen, they would say I looked haughty ; is it
not so ? "
The Queen spared no pains to train her children
in the graceful and pleasant manners which endeared
56
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
her so much to all who surrounded her. I have
seen her when making her daughter the Princess,
then six years old, dine with a little peasant girl
whom she was taking care of, desire that the latter
should be served first, saying to her daughter :
" You must do her the honours."
The last sitting I had with Her Majesty was at
the Trianon, where I painted her head for the
large picture with her children. I remember
that Baron de Breteuil, then a minister, was
present and during the entire sitting never stopped
backbiting all the women of the Court. He
must have believed me to be either deaf or very
good-natured, not to fear I might report some of
his evil remarks to the persons concerned. The
fact is, it has never occurred to me to repeat a
single one of them, though I have forgotten none.
Having painted the head of the Queen, besides
the separate studies of the first Dauphin, the
Princess Royal and the Duke of Normandy, I
immediately set to work on my picture and finished
it for the Salon of 1788. The sight of the frame
being carried in alone gave rise to scores of un-
pleasant remarks. " Voila le deficit," they said,
besides many other things which were repeated
to me and forewarned me of the bitterest criticisms.
At last I sent my picture. I had not the
courage, however, to go with it in order to know
its fate at once, so great was my fear of its being
ill received by the public. My fear, in fact,
gave me a fever. I locked myself in my room,
and was there praying to Heaven for the success
S7
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
of my Royal Family, when my brother and a hosti
of friends came to tell me that I was gaining
universal approbation.
After the Salon the King ordered the picture
to be taken to Versailles, where M. d'Angiviller,
the then Minister for Arts and director of the
royal buildings, presented me to His Majesty.
Louis XVI very kindly talked with me a long
while and told me that he was very pleased,
adding, as he looked again at my work : *' I have
no great knowledge of painting, but you make
me fond of it."
My picture was hung in one of the rooms of
the Palace at Versailles, and the Queen always
passed it on her way to and from Mass. After
the death of the Dauphin, at the beginning of
1789, the sight of it reminded her so vividly of
her cruel loss that she was unable to cross the
room without shedding tears. She then told M.
d'Angiviller to have the picture removed, but
with her habitual grace she took care to let me
know at once the reason for its removal. It is
to the Queen's sensibility that I owe the preser-
vation of my picture, for the low jades and bandits
who came a short while after to fetch their
Majesties, would certainly have lacerated it, as
they did the Queen's bed, which was cut right
through.
I never had the pleasure of seeing Marie-
Antoinette after the last ball at Versailles. This
ball was given in the Court theatre. The box
in which I found myself placed was near enough
58
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
to the Queen to allow of my hearing what she
said. She was very agitated, and invited the
young gendemen of the Court, such as M. de
Lameth and others, to dance, all of whom refused,
so that most of the set-dances could not be arranged.
The conduct of these gentlemen struck me as
being most unbecoming. Their refusal somehow
seemed to me like a sort of revolt, pointing to
something yet more serious. The Revolution was
on its way ; it broke out the following year.
With the exception of the Count d'Artois, I
painted successively the whole Royal Family, the
French royal children, the King's brother (later,
Louis XVIII), his wife, the Countess d'Artois,
and the Princess Elisabeth. The features of the
latter were not regular, but her face had the
kindliest expression, while her great freshness was
remarkable. Altogether she had the charm of a
pretty shepherdess. Of course you know, dear
friend, that the Princess Elisabeth was an angel
of goodness. How often was I privileged to
witness her good deeds towards the unfortunate !
Her heart sheltered all the virtues. Indulgent,
modest, sensible and devoted, she showed in the
Revolution an heroic courage. This gentle Prin-
cess was seen to walk in front of the cannibals
who came to murder the Queen, saying : '* They
will take me for her ! "
In painting the portrait of the King's brother
I was able to make the acquaintance of a Prince
whose fine mind and instruction could be praised
without flattery. It was impossible not to find
59
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
pleasure in the conversation of Louis XVIII, who
discoursed on all subjects with as much good taste
as knowledge. Sometimes, by way of variety,
no doubt, he would sing to me during the sittings
songs which, without being unseemly, were so
common that I could not understand by what
channel such silly things arrived at the Court.
His voice was as false as any on earth. '' How
do you think I sing, Madame Le Brun ? "
he said to me one day. — *' Like a Prince, sir," I
replied.
The Marquis de Montesquiou, his equerry, sent
a very fine carriage with eight horses to take me
to Versailles and to bring me back with my
mother, whom I had asked to accompany me.
All along the way people stood at their windows
to see me pass. Everybody raised his hat. I
was amused by the homage paid to the eight
horses and to the rider who went in front, for
when I arrived in Paris, I took a cab and no one
paid any further attention to me.
The King's brother was then what is called a
Liberal (in the moderate sense of the word, of
course). He and his followers formed a party
at the Court quite distinct from that of the King.
So I was by no means surprised during the Revo-
lution to see the Marquis de Montesquiou appointed
General-in-Chief of the Republican Army of
Savoy. I had only to recall the strange things
I heard him say in my presence, not to speak of
the remarks he so openly indulged in against
the Queen and all she loved. As for the King's
60
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
brother himself, the newspapers tell us how he
went to the National Assembly and declared that
he did not come to take his seat as a prince^ but
as a citizen. For all that, I do not believe that
such a declaration would have been sufficient to
save his head, and that he did the right thing a
little later in leaving France.
About the same time I painted the portrait of
the Princess de Lamballe. Though not pretty,
she appeared to be so at a distance. She had
small features, a dazzling fresh complexion, glorious
fair hair and plenty of elegance about all her
person. The dreadful end of that unfortunate
Princess is well known, as also the devotion to
which she was sacrificed ; for, being out of all
peril at Turin in 1793, she returned to France
as soon as she learnt that the Queen was in danger.
You see I have gone far beyond the year 1779,
my dear friend. But I preferred to tell you in a
single letter of my relations as an artist with all
these great personages, of whom none survives
to-day except the Count d'Artois (Charles X)
and the unfortunate daughter of Marie-Antoinette.
61
CHAPTER VI
Journey in Flanders — Brussels — Prince de Ligne — Picture at the
Town Hall of Amsterdam — My reception at the Royal
Academy of Painting — My dwelling — My society — My con-
certs — Garat — Axevedo — Mme Todi — f^iotti — Maestrino —
Prince Henry of Prussia — Salentin — Hulmandel — Cramer —
Mme de Montgeroult — My suppers — / act comedy in society
— Our actors.
IN 1782 M. LE BRUN took me to Flanders,
where business called him. The superb col-
lection of pictures belonging to Prince Charles
was then being sold, and we went to see the
exhibition. I found there several ladies of the
Court, who received me with great kindness, one
of them being the Duchess d'Aremberg, whom I
had seen a good deal in Paris. I was most de-
lighted, however, to meet Prince de Ligne, with
whom I was as yet unacquainted, and who has
left a sort of historical reputation for wit and
affability. He invited us to inspect his gallery,
where I admired several masterpieces, mostly
portraits by Van Dyck and heads by Rubens,
as he owned but few Italian pictures. He desired
also to receive us at his superb mansion Bel-Oeil.
I remember he took us up into a belvedere, built
at the top of a height dominating his lands and
the surrounding country. The perfect air and
62
D'ALEMBERT.
From a draiving by Cochin.
To face p. 62 .
kt ° "cnh&iTii
'mtMQ/m^itmitmtuatAimi
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
beautiful scene were enchanting ; but nothing
exceeded the charm of our reception by a host
whose graceful mind and manners were unmatched.
The town of Brussels at that time seemed to
me rich and lively. In high society, for instance,
pleasure was so rife that several friends of the
Prince de Ligne would sometimes leave Brussels
after breakfast, arrive in Paris for the raising of
the curtain at the show, and return to Brussels
immediately after, travelling all night. That is
what one may call being fond of the Opera.
We left Brussels for Holland. The sight of
Sardam and Mars ^ gave me much pleasure.
These two little towns are so clean and well kept
that one regards the inhabitants with envy. The
streets are very narrow and bordered with canals.
Horses take the place of carriages, while little
boats are used for the transport of goods. The
houses are very low and have two doors : the
door of birth and the door of death, through
which no one passes except in a coffin. The roofs
of these houses shine like steel, while everything
is so wonderfully well looked after that I remember
seeing outside a farrier's shop a sort of lantern
burnished bright enough for a drawing-room.
The women of the people in that part of Holland
seemed to me very beautiful, but so timid that
the sight of a stranger made them flee. They
were so in those days, though I suppose that the
presence of Frenchmen in their country may
have tamed them.
I The author probably refers to the Isle of Marken.
63
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
We ended by visiting Amsterdam, where at
the Town Hall I saw the superb picture of the
burgomasters by Wanols (Vander Heist). I do
not think there is any painting more beautiful
and true ; it is Nature herself. The burgo-
masters are dressed in black, their 'heads, hands,
and draperies being of an inimitable beauty.
Those men are alive : one feels one is with them.
I am convinced it is the most perfect picture of its
kind. I could not cease looking at it. The im-
pression it made upon me keeps it ever before me.
We returned to Flanders to see the masterpieces
of Rubens. They were then much better placed
than later on in the Paris Museum. In the
Flemish churches they all produced an admirable
effect. Other masterpieces of this painter adorned
private galleries. At Antwerp I saw the famous
Straw Hat painting which was lately sold to an
Englishman for a large sum. It represents one of
Rubens' wives. Its chief effect consists in the
difference of light between simple daylight and
sunshine, though perhaps one must be a painter in
order to appreciate Rubens' power of execution.
I was so delighted with the picture that it inspired
me to paint my own portrait at Brussels in trying
to get the same effect. I painted myself wearing
a straw hat, a feather and a garland of wild flowers,
and holding my palette in my hand. When the
portrait was exhibited at the Salon, it added much
to my reputation, I venture to say. It was
engraved by the celebrated Mullen You must
realize, however, that the dark shades of the
64
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
After my marriage I still lived in the Rue de
Clery, where M. Le Brun had a large and well-
urnished apartment, in which he placed his pictures
3y all the great masters. As for myself, I was
reduced to occupying a litde ante-chamber and
bedroom which served me for a salon. It
was hung with wallpaper similar to the toile de
"Jouy of my bed-curtains. The furniture was
very simple, perhaps too simple This fact, how-
ever, did not prevent M. de Champcenetz (whose
mother-in-law was jealous of me) from writing
that *' Mme Le Brun had gilt wainscotings,
ghted her fire with bank-notes, and burnt nothing
3ut aloe for wood." But I will delay as much
as possible, dear friend, to tell you of the hundreds
of slanders of which I was the victim : we will
return to that subject later on. The reason for
these slanders is to be found in the fact of my
receiving the town and Court every evening in
the modest apartment I have mentioned. Grand
adies, grand gentlemen, outstanding men of
etters and art — everybody came to that room.
?^eople vied with one another to be invited to
ny receptions, where the crowd was often so big
:hat the marshals of France sat on the floor for
ivant of a seat, and I remember that the Marechal
ie Noailles, who was very fat and old, was hard
3ut to it to get up again. I was far from fancying
to myself that everybody came for my sake. As
happens in open houses, the ones came to see the
others, while the greater number came to hear
the best music in Paris. The famous composers,
67
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bru
Gretry, Martini, Sacchini, often carried out part
of their operas at my house before their firs
performance. Our usual singers were Garat
Azevedo, Richer, Mme Todi, my sister-in-law
who had a very beautiful voice and could accom
pany at sight, which was very useful to us. Some
times I sang myself, without method, it is true
for I never had time to take lessons, but my voici
was pleasant enough. Gretry said I had silve
tones. Anyhow, it was useless to make any claim:
as a singer in the presence of those I have men^
tioned. Garat, above all, had the most extra-
ordinary talent. Not only did no difficulty exis
for such a flexible throat, but he was also unrivallec
for expression, while no one, in my opinion, hai
sung Gluck so well as he. As for Mme Todi
she possessed a wonderful voice together with al
the qualities of a great cantatrice, singing serious
and comic works with the same perfection.
For instrumental music I had Viotti the violinistj
whose ravishing play was so full of grace, force-
fulness and expression. Further, Jarnovick, Maes-
trino. Prince Henry of Prussia, an excellent
amateur, who also brought me his first violin.
Salentin played the hautbois, Hulmandel and
Cramer the piano. Mme de Montgeroult alsc
came once, a short while after her marriage.
Although she was then very young, she astonishec
all my very critical company with her admirable
execution and expression. She made the keys
speak. Having risen to the foremost rank as i
pianist, Mme de Montgeroult gained distinction
68
t'" .aiilk^iMit.;
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
also as a composer. In the days when I gave
my concerts, one had both taste and leisure for
amusement. Even several years before, the love
of music was so general that it gave rise to serious
quarrels between the Gluckists and Piccinists.
All music-lovers were divided into two opposing
factions. The usual battle-field was the garden
of the Palais Royal. There the partisans of
Gluck and those of Piccini quarrelled so violently
that many a duel was the result. Quarrels also
took place in several salons on account of these
great masters. Marmontel and the Abbe Arnault
were opposed to each other, Marmontel being a
Piccinist and the Abbe an ardent Gluckist. Each
hurled epigrams and couplets against the other.
The Abbe Arnault, for instance, composed the
following verses :
Ce Marmontel, si lent, si lourd.
Qui ne parle pas, mais qui beugle,
Juge la painture en aveugle,
Et la musique comme un sourd.^
Marmontel replied with this couplet :
L'Abbe Fatras,
De Carpentras,
Demande un benefice.
II I'obtiendra
Car r Opera
Lui tient lieu d'office.'
* " This slow, heavy Marmontel, who does not speak, but bellows, judges
painting like a blind man, and music like a deaf man."
> " The Abb6 Fatras of Carpentras asks for a living. He'll get it, for
the Op^ra serves him instead of the divine office."
69
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
You will agree, my dear, that the times must
have been very happy when people's quarrels
were about no graver subjects than those, which
could only occur among enlightened folk. But I
return to the subject of my concerts.
The women who usually attended them were
the Marquise de Groslier, Mme de Verdun, the
Marquise de Sabran, who later married the
Chevalier de Boufflers, Mme Le Couteulx du
Molay, all four my best friends, the Countess
de Segur, the Marquise de Rouge, Mme de Peze,
her friend, whom I painted in the same picture
with her, a host of other French ladies whom I
could only receive occasionally owing to the
smallness of the premises, and the most dis-
tinguished foreign ladies. As for the men, the
number would be too long to relate in detail,
since I believe I received all that Paris could offer
in the way of people of talent and wit.
From among this crowd I chose the most
agreeable for my invitations to supper, which
the Abbe Delille, Lebrun the poet, the Chevalier
de Boufflers, the Vicomte de Segur, and others,
made the most amusing in Paris.
It is impossible to realize what French society
was like, unless one knows the time when, having
finished the business of the day, twelve or fifteen
pleasant people would come together at the house
of a hostess in order to end their evening. The
ease and gentle mirth which prevailed at those light;
evening meals lent them a charm which dinners
will never have. A sort of mutual confidence
70
GLUCK.
From the painting by Duplessis,
To face p. 71.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
and intimacy prevailed among the guests ; and
since well-bred people are never troubled v^ith
shyness, it was at these suppers that the high
society of Paris showed itself superior to the rest
of Europe.
At my house, for instance, people came together
about nine o'clock. No one ever spoke of politics ;
the conversation turned on literature and one
told the anecdote of the day. Sometimes we
played charades, while at others the Abbe Delille
or Lebrun (Pindare) would read his verses to
us. At ten o'clock one sat down at table. My
supper was of the simplest kind. It consisted of
a fowl, a fish, a plate of vegetables and a salad,
so that if I ventured to make some visitors stay
on for supper, there was really not enough to eat
for everybody. That, however, mattered little :
everyone was merry and pleasant : hours went
by like minutes, till about midnight everyone
withdrew^
Apart from the suppers at my house, I often
went out to supper, for I was not at leisure till
the evening. It was then very pleasant for me
to find rest from my work in some pleasant dis-
traction. Sometimes it took the shape of a ball,
where one was not suffocated as nowadays. Eight
persons only formed the set-dance, while the
women who did not dance could at least watch
the others do so, for the men stood up behind
them. Never having any fondness for dancing,
I much preferred houses where music was offered.
I often spent the evening at the house of M. de
71
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Riviere, where we acted comedy and comic opera.
His daughter, my sister-in-law, sang marvellously,
and was an excellent actress. M. de Riviere's
eldest son was charming in comic parts, while I
was given the role of lady's maid in opera and
comedy. Mme de la Ruette, who had retired
from the stage some years previously, did not
despise our troupe. She acted with us in several
operas, her voice being still very fresh and
beautiful. My brother Vigee took the leading
parts with great success. Indeed, all our actors
were excellent except Talma. Does that make
you laugh ? The fact is that Talma, who played
the lover in our pieces, was awkward and ill at
ease, while nobody at the time could have foreseen
that he would become an inimitable actor. I
admit my surprise was very great when I saw our
young actor surpass Larive and replace Lekain.
But the time it took to effect this change, as all
others of the kind, proves that the dramatic talent
is of all talents that which takes the longest to
be acquired. Observe that there is not a single
great actor known, who was such in his youth.
This letter is enormous. I have no space left
to tell you of a certain Grecian supper, which,
owing to stupid gossip, was bruited abroad even
as far as St. Petersburg. I end with my love to
you.
72
CHAPTER VII
My Grecian supper — Gossip it occasioned — What it cost me —
Menageot — M. de Calonne — Mile Arnoulfs remark — Mme
de S V slanders — Her perfidy.
I WILL NOW GIVE YOU, my dear friend,
the exact account of the most brilliant supper
I ever gave in the days when people were
always talking about my luxurious and magnificent
mode of life.
One afternoon, while taking my rest before
receiving a dozen or so persons I had invited,
I got my brother to read aloud to me several
pages of the Travels of Anarcharsis, When he
came to the passage describing the way to make
several Grecian sauces, he suggested that I should
have them prepared for table that evening. I
sent immediately for my cook and gave her the
[lecessary instructions for the preparation of a
pertain sauce for the fowl and of another for the
pel. As I was expecting some very beautiful
k^omen, I thought it a good idea to dress every-
body in Grecian costumes, in order to have a
urprise ready for M. de Vaudreuil and M. Boutin,
vho were not expected till ten o'clock.
My atelier was full of draperies used for my
nodels, so I hoped to get dresses enough from
73
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
that source, while Count de Paroy, who occupied
my house in the Rue de Clery, had a fine collection
of Etruscan vases. Luckily, he came to see me
that very day about four o'clock. I told him
about my plan, and he brought me a lot of cups
and vases, from which I made a choice. I cleaned
them all myself and put them on a bare mahogany
table. After that I placed behind the chairs an
immense screen, which I took care to hide beneath
some drapery, hung from point to point as one
sees in Poussin's pictures. A hanging lamp shed
a strong light on to the table. Everything, even
the costumes, having been got ready, Mme Chal-
grin, the charming daughter of Joseph Vernet
was the first to arrive. I did her hair and dressec
her at once. The next arrival was the beautifu
Mme de Bonneuil. Then came Mme Vigee, m)
sister-in-law, who was not so pretty but had th(
most lovely eyes in the world. In a trice al
three were transformed into perfect Atheniansj
Lebrun-Pindare arrived. His powdered wig wai
taken from him and his tresses were undone a
the side, after which I fixed on his head the sam(
crown of laurels which I had just used in painting
Prince Henry Lubomirski in Love of Glory
Count de Paroy had a big clean mantle, wit
which I immediately transformed Pindare int
Anacreon. Then came the Marquis de Cubierej
While a guitar shaped like a gilt lyre was bein
fetched from his house, I dressed up my sister-in
law's brother M. de Riviere, Ginguene, an
Chaudet, the famous sculptor.
74
QUEEN MARIE-ANTOINETTE.
From the palming by Madame he Brun {Musee de Versailles).
To face p. 74.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
The hour was getting late and I had had little
time to think about myself ; but as I always
wore a white dress like a tunic (what is called a
blouse nowadays) I needed only to put a veil
and a chaplet of flowers on my head. I took
articular care with my daughter and Mme de
onneuil, who was as beautiful as an angel. Both
ere ravishing to the sight, carrying a very light
fincient vase and getting ready to serve us with
Brink. At half-past nine the preparations were
completed. When we were all in our places, the
effect of the table was so novel and picturesque
that we took turns in getting up and going to
ook at those who remained seated. At ten o'clock
we heard the carriage of Count de Vaudreuil
and Boutin enter the courtyard, and when these
two gentlemen arrived at the dining-room door,
they discovered us singing Gluck's chorus, *' Le
Dieu de Paphos et de Cnide," which M. de
[^ubieres accompanied on his lyre. In all my
ife I have never seen two faces so much
istonished and dumbfounded as those of M. de
Vaudreuil and his companion. They were so
jurprised and charmed that they remained stand-
ng a very long time before making up their
ninds to occupy the places we had reserved for
Jiem.
Besides the two dishes I have already told you
)f, we had a cake made of honey and currants,
ind two dishes of vegetables. It is true that we
irank a bottle of old Cyprus wine which had
Deen given me for a present. That was all the
7S
Memoirs oj Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brm
excess. Nevertheless, we remained at table ;
very long while. Lebrun recited several ode
of Anacreon which he had translated. I dc
not believe I have ever spent a more amusing
evening.
M. Boutin and M. de Vaudreuil were so de
lighted with the evening that they talked abou
it to all their acquaintances next day. Som
ladies of the Court begged me to repeat the fun
I refused for various reasons, whereat several o
the ladies took offence. The report soon go
abroad that I had spent twenty thousand franc
on the entertainment. The King mentioned i
jokingly to the Marquis de Cubieres, who luckil;
happened to have been one of the company, an(
convinced His Majesty of the nonsense of such ;
suggestion.
Nevertheless, the cost, which was kept as modes
as twenty thousand at Versailles, rose to fort]
thousand at Rome. At Vienna, Baroness Stro
gonofF told me that I had spent sixty thousan<
on my Grecian supper. At Petersburg it w^
settled at last at eighty thousand. And the trutl
is, it cost me fifteen francs.
The sad part of all this was that these bas
falsehoods were spread all over Europe by m
own countrymen. The ridiculous slander of whic
I have told you was not the only one with whic
people tried to torment my life, as may be see
from the following verses addressed to me b'
Lebrun-Pindare in 1789 and which perhaps yoi
do not know :
76
THE TRIANON.
To face p. 76,
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
A Madame Le Brun.
Chere Le Brun, la gloire a ses orages j
L'Envie est la qui guette le talent ;
Tout ce qui plait, tout merite excellent
Doit de ce monstre essuyer les outrages.
Qui mieux que toi les merita jamais ?
Un pinceau male anime tes portraits.
Non, tu n'est plus femme que Ton renomme :
L'Envie est juste et ses cris obstines
Et ses serpents contre toi dechaines
Mieux que nos voix te declarent grand homme.^
Leaving aside the poet's exaggeration regarding
ny talent, it is unfortunately true, however, that
Ver since my first appearance in society I have
►een made the butt of stupidity and malice. At
:rst it was said my works were not my own :
A. Menageot painted my pictures, even my
ortraits. Though so many people who sat for
le could naturally bear witness to the contrary,
lis absurd report was spread abroad even till the
me of my reception into the Royal Academy of
ainting. As I was then exhibiting at the Salon
: the same time as the author of Meleagre, the
uth had to be admitted ; for Menageot, whose
llent and advice I greatly appreciated, had a
ay of painting entirely opposed to my own.^
» " Dear Le Brun, glory has its storms. Envy lies in wait for talent,
krything pleasant, all excellent merit, has to undergo the outrages of this
bnster. Who ever merited them more than thou ? A manly brush gives
b to thy portraits. No, thou art not praised because thou art a woman.
ivy is just, and its repeated cries and serpents let loose against thee, proclaim
ce better than our voices a great man."
* Menageot's pictures are thoroughly well composed and of good historical
fit. He excelled in draping his figures. His Leonard de Find mourant
77
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bru)
Though I believe I was the most harmlesi
creature in existence, I was not without enemies
Not only did some women dislike me for no
being so ugly as themselves, but several painter
could not forgive me for being the fashion anc
getting a higher price for my pictures than the]
got for theirs. This led to all sorts of thing
being said against me, one of which caused mi
great distress. Just before the Revolution,
painted the portrait of M. de Calonne and exhibited
it at the Salon of 1785. I had painted ths
Minister, seated, to half-way down the legs. Thi
caused Mile Arnoult to remark : " Mme Le Bru
has cut off his legs, so that he may not run away.
Unfortunately, that witty remark was not th
only one occasioned by my picture, and I foun
myself subjected to slanders of the most odioi
nature. First of all, absurd stories were tol
regarding the fee for the portrait. Some assertei
that the Minister of Finance had given me a gref
number of bonbons called papillotes wrapped i
bank-notes. Others made out that I had receive
a pie containing a sum big enough to ruin th
Treasury. There were, in fact, hundreds of vei
sions, the one more ridiculous than the othe
The truth is M. de Calonne sent me four thousan
francs in a box valued at twenty louis. Sever;
of the persons who were present when I receive
dans les bras de Francois I is very remarkable, though not up to the quali
of Mel^agre, which has been kept at the Gobelins to be worked in tapesti
M. Menageot was a very handsome man, thoroughly pleasant, keen-witt
and gay. He was therefore much sought after in the best society.
78
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
the box are still alive and can testify to the truth
of this. Some were even surprised at the meagre-
ness of the sum ; for a short time previously,
M. de Beaujon, whom I had painted the same
size, had sent me eight thousand francs, which
lo one took to be an exorbitant price. Never-
theless, the evil-minded set to work to embroider
:he fact. I was pestered with libels accusing me of
iving in intimate relationship with M. de Calonne.
\ certain Gorsas, whom I have never seen or known
md who was reported to me as a violent Jacobin,
/■omited these horrid things against me.
The fact of M. Le Brun having a house built in
lie Rue du Gros Chenet, though against my desire,
erved, unfortunately, as a pretext for the calumny.
kVe had, indeed, earned money enough to warrant
luch an expense. Nevertheless, certain people
isserted that M. de Calonne paid for the house.
" See what infamous things are being said," I
;onstantly pointed out to M. Le Brun. — " Let
hem talk," he replied in gende anger. *' When
^ou are dead, I will raise a pyramid sky-high in
my garden and I will have the list of your portraits
pngraved on it. Then they will know what to
hink about your fortune." But I confess that
he hope of such an honour gave me small con-
iolation for my actual sorrow, which was all the
more heartfelt because nobody had feared less
than I the possibility of becoming the victim of
vil-thinking. I was so careless of money that
[ was almost unaware of its value. Countess de
a Guiche, who is still alive, can relate how she
79
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
came to ask me to paint her portrait, saying that
she could not offer more than a thousand ecus ;
to which I replied that M, Le Brun did not wish
me to paint for less than a hundred louis. This
inability to calculate was very unprofitable to me
during my last visit to London. I was constantly
forgetting that a guinea was worth more than a
louis, and in settling the price of my portraits,
especially that of Mrs. Canning (in 1803), I
reckoned as though I was in Paris.
Moreover, all those who were around me know
that M. Le Brun took charge of all my earnings,
telling me that he would use them to advantage
in his business. Often I kept no more than si:
francs in my pocket. When I painted the portrai
of the handsome Prince Lubomirski in 1788
Princess Lubomirska, his aunt, sent me twelv(
thousand francs, of which sum I begged M. Lj
Brun to leave me two louis. He refused, saving
that he needed the whole sum in order to settle
an account It was more usual, in fact, for M.
Le Brun himself to receive the money, and very
often he failed to tell I had been paid. Once
only in my life, in September 1789, did I receive
the fee for a portrait ; that was when the Bailiff
of Crussol sent me one hundred lois. Happily,
my husband was away, so that I was able to keep
the money, which paid for my journey to Rome
a few days later (September 5th).
My indifference to money was no doubt at
that time due to the little need I had to be rich.
My house required no luxury to make it pleasant.
80
lemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
nd I have always lived very modesdy. I spent
pry litde on clodies. In this respect I was even
ccused of being too careless, for I always wore
^hite dresses of muslin or linen, and never had
ny ornamental dresses made except for my sittings
t Versailles. My head-gear never cost me any-
ling. I did my own hair-dressing and generally
visted a muslin fichu about my head, as may be
len in my portraits in Florence, St. Petersburg,
id at M. de Laborde's house in Paris. I painted
lyself in this manner in all my portraits except
le one at the Home Office, where I am in a
reek costume.
Certainly, a woman of that sort was not likely
> be seduced by the title of Finance Minister,
hile, in every other respect, M. de Calonne
^ays seemed to me unattractive, for he wore a
ical wig. A wig ! Just imagine me, with my
ndness for the picturesque, being able to put up
,th a wig ! I have always detested them, so
bch so that I once refused a rich suitor because
wore a wig. I never painted bewigged men
kept with regret.
The surprising part of this affair is that there
IS nothing to offer even the shadow of likelihood
slander. I scarcely knew M. de Calonne.
nee only in my life had I been to his abode at
e Ministry of Finance. He was giving a grand
rty for Prince Henry of Prussia, and as the latter
iially visited my house, he had thought it proper
invite me. Moreover, I remember hurrying
portrait to the extent of painting the hands
F 8i
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brut
without his sitting for them, though it was m]
custom always to paint them from life.
I should never have guessed the source of the&
distressing reports, had I not discovered later oi
a truly hellish perfidy.
M. de Calonne used often to go to the Rui
du Gros Chenet (I was not living there at th
time) to the house of Mme de S , wife of D
nicknamed "The Rake." ^ Mme de S hai
a sweet and charming face, although one couL
notice something false in her look. M. de Calonn
was very much in love with her. At the time
am speaking of, she had asked me to paint he
portrait. One day, while sitting for me, sh
asked me with her usual sweetness if I woul
lend her my carriage in order to go to the pla
that evening. I consented, and my coachma
went to her house to get her. Next morning
I ordered my carriage for eleven o'clock. Pi,
eleven o'clock, however, neither coachman nd
carriage had returned. I immediately sent a me
senger to Mme de S 's house. Mme de S — ^
had not returned at all. She had spent the nigl
at the palace of the Minister of Finance ! Jud^
of my anger when I heard the news a few da;
later through my coachman, whom a large bril
had failed to keep silent and who had related tl
matter to several people in the house. Thinkir
» These are the only names dissimulated by Mme Vigee-Le Brun in 1
Memoirs. They refer to Countess de Serre, wife of Jean Du Barry, the fame
" Rake," who called himself Count de Serre at Toulouse. The family li\
in Paris in 1785.
82
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
that if the people at the Finance palace or others
had asked the coachman the name of his employers
he would naturally have answered that it belonged
to Mme Le Brun, I was quite beyond myself.
It is useless to add that I have never seen Mme
de S again. I am told she is living at Tou-
louse, practising the most austere life of religious
devotion. May God grant her pardon ! Did she
try to save her reputation at the cost of mine ?
Did she hate me ? I do not know. But she did
me great harm, for the long details I have set
out, dear friend, prove how much I have suffered
from a slander which was so little in keeping with
my character and the conduct of a whole lifetime,
which I venture to say has been one of honour.
This is truly a sad letter, fit to turn one with
disgust from celebrity, especially if one has the
misfortune to be a woman. Somebody said to
me one day : " When I look at you and think
Df your fame, I seem to see rays about your head."
— " Ah ! " I replied with a sigh. " There may
A^ell be a few little serpents among them." And
really, has one ever known a great reputation,
n whatever matter, that failed to arouse envy ?
[t is true that it also attracts towards you your
iiost distinguished contemporaries ; and that
issociation makes up for many things. When I
hink of the great number of pleasant and good
)eople, whose friendship I owe to my talent, I
)ride myself with having made my name known ;
vhile to put everything in a nutshell, dear friend,
vhen I think of you, I forget the wicked.
83
CHAPTER VIII
Lekain — Brizard — Mile Dumesnil — Monvel — Mile Raucourt —
Mile Sainval — Mme Festris — Larive — Mile Clairon —
Talma — Preville — Duga%on — Mile Doligny — Mile Contat —
Mole — Fleury — Mile Mars — Mile Arnault — Mme Saint-
Huberti — The two Festris — Mile Pelin — Mile Allard—
Mile Guimard — Carlin — Caillot — Laruette — Mme Duga-zon
ONE OF MY FAVOURITE relaxations wai
to go to the playhouse. I can tell yoi
that the actors were so brilliant that man]
of them have never been equalled. I remembe
the celebrated actor Lekain. Though I was thei
too young to appreciate his great talent, th
applause and enthusiasm he aroused told me hov
brilliant a tragedian he was. The amazing uglines
of Lekain vanished when he played certain charac
ters. The costume of knight, for instance, softenei
so much the stern and repellent expression
his face, the features of which were irregulai
that it was possible to look at it when he playei
Tancrede. I once saw him in the role of Orosman
at very close quarters, and the turban made hir
look so hideous that I was filled with dreac
although I admired his fine and noble manner.
At the time when Lekain was playing th
principal parts, as well as some time after, I sa^
Brizard and Mile Dumesnil. Brizard acted th
84
MARIE-ANTOINETTE'S ARRIVAL AT NOTRE-DAME FOR A
THANKSGIVING SERVICE.
To face p. 85.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
part of father, nature seeming to have created
him for that office. His white hair, imposing
figure and superb voice gave him the noblest and
most respectable character imaginable. He ex-
celled above all in King Lear and in Ducis' Oedipe.
So grand was the aspect of the man who acted
the parts of these two old unfortunate princes
that you would have believed you really saw them.
Mile Dumesnil, though small and very ugly,
aroused enthusiasm in the great tragic roles. Her
talent was very unbalanced. She sometimes bor-
dered on triviality, though she had her sublime
moments. In general, she was better at expressing
fury than affection, unless it was maternal affection,
one of her finest parts being that of Merope.
She sometimes played part of a play without
making any effect. Then of a sudden she would
brighten up, her gestures, voice and looks be-
coming so wonderfully tragic that she won the
applause of the entire theatre. I was told that
she always drank a botde of wine before going
on to the stage, and that she always had another
kept ready in the side-scenes.
One of the most remarkable actors of the
Theatre Frangais, in tragedy and comedy, was
Monvel. He was prevented from attaining front
rank by a few physical defects and the weakness
of his voice, but his soul, ardour and perfect
delivery were excellent. When I returned to
France he had given up playing young leading
parts and was acting the part of a noble father.
I saw him act Auguste in Cinna and the Abbe
85
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
de I'Epee most admirably. In the latter role he
was so real that one day when he greeted the
personages of the piece just before leaving the
stage, I rose and returned his greeting, which
amused very much the people who were with me
in the box.
The most brilliant debut I ever saw was that,
of Mile Raucourt in the role of Didon. She
could not have been more than eighteen or twenty
years old. The beauty of her features, her figure,
voice, delivery, all bespoke a perfect actress. To
so many advantages she united a most remarkable
stateliness and the reputation of an austere staid-
ness that caused her to be much courted by our
greatest ladies. She was given jewels, her theatre
costumes, as well as money for herself and her
father, who was always at her side. Later on
she must have changed her mode of life. It is
said that the first happy mortal to triumph over
so much virtue was the Marquis de Bievres, and
that when she forsook him for another lover he
exclaimed : " Ah ! the ungrateful woman has
my income ! " Though Mile Raucourt may not
have remained virtuous, she certainly remained a
great tragedian. But her voice became so harsh
and hard that, listening to her with one's eyes
shut, one thought it was a man speaking. Not
till her death did she leave the stage, where she
ended up by playing the parts of mothers and
queens with tremendous success.
Other actresses I saw were the Miles Sainval
and Mme Vestris, the sister of Dugazon. The
86
MADAME ELIZABETH OF FRANCE.
From a painting by Madame Le Brun [Musee de Versailles),
To fac p. 87.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
two former were given a little too much to weeping,
but both, especially the younger, seemed to me
to be greater tragediennes than Mme Vestris,
who, in spite of her beauty, never gained any
great success, except in the role of Gabrielle de
Vergy, when, in the last act, she created a heart-
rending effect. It must, however, be said that
the scene is horrible.
Larive, who had the ill-luck to succeed Lekain,
still fresh in people's memories, had more talent
than old theatre-goers were willing to grant. It
was the comparison alone that did him injustice,
or he lacked neither nobility nor energy. His
"ace was handsome. He was big and well made,
but never upright on his legs, which led to its
Deing said that he walked beside himself.
Larive had a very good manner and conversed
wittily, even on matters unconnected with his
art, so that he was always in good company. My
Drother introduced him to me. Knowing that
he was intimately associated with Mile Clairon,
I once remarked to him that I would like to meet
that great tragedienne, whom I had never seen
on the stage. He immediately begged me to
dine at his house in order to bring us together.
accepted the invitation. Two days later I
^ent to the house he had had built for himself
in the Gros-Caillou. It was a charming house,
ippointed in perfect taste, besides having a
beautiful garden which offered one the delights
)f the country in Paris. Larive took me round
lis arches under climbing vines in the style of
87
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brm
the ancients, such as one sees in the neighbourhood
of Naples. Just as we returned to the salon foi
dinner. Mile Clairon was announced. I had
imagined her to be very big. She was, however,
very small and thin. She carried her head very
high, which made her look very dignified. On
the other hand, I have never heard anyone speak
with so much bombast, for she always kept the
tragic tone and the airs of a princess. But she
seemed to me well-informed and fine-witted. I
sat next to her at table and much enjoyed hei
conversation. Larive showed a great respect foi
her, revealing both admiration and gratitude, with
which he never ceased talking of her.
On my return to France, I was delighted tc
see Larive again, meeting him frequently at th(
house of the Marquise de Grollier at Epinay
Having left the stage, he was then living at j
charming country house near by. Mme de Grolliei
was delighted to have him for a neighbour. H<
treated us to wonderful readings ; his way ol
reciting verses was much enhanced by the beaut)
of his voice.
Talma, our last great tragedian, surpassed al
others, in my opinion. His acting was genial
Moreover, he may be said to have revolutionizec
the art, first of all, by doing away with the bom
bastic, afiFected manner of reciting, and by hi
natural and true delivery ; secondly, by changin
the style of the costumes, for he dressed as a Gree
and Roman when acting the parts of Achille
and Brutus. Talma had a very fine head ani
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
one of the most flexible faces ever seen. How-
ever fiery his acting became, he always remained
noble, which is, I think, the first quality in a
tragedian. His voice was at times rather damped.
It was more suited to furious or deep parts rather
than brilliant ones. For this reason he was
especially admirable in the roles of Areste and
Manlius, but he had several sublime moments in
all. The last role he thought out has never since
been played. I do not believe anyone would
dare, for Talma showed himself therein superior
to himself. It was no longer an actor ; it was
Charles VI himself, an unhappy king, an unhappy
fool in all his frightful truth. Alas ! death fol-
lowed so closely on his triumph. What Paris
had applauded so enthusiastically was the death-
song of the swan.
Talma was an excellent man, the easiest of all
to get along with. He was generally very litde
trouble in society, an interesting word in the
conversation being all that was necessary to animate
im. He would then become very interesting to
listen to, especially when he talked of his art.
Comedy was perhaps richer in talents than
tragedy. I often had the pleasure of seeing Pre-
ville act. What a perfect, inimitable actor ! His
acting was full of wit, good-nature and gaiety,
besides being most varied. If he played Crispin,
Sosie, Figaro, one after the other, you would
not recognize the same man, so inexhaustible
were the shades in his interpretation of the comical.
For this reason he has never been replaced. He
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
was so naturally genuine that all his imitators
had only succeeded in showing his superiority.
I make no exception of Dugazon, who certainly
had great talent, but as Figaro in the Barber of
Seville, for instance, he never came up to his model,
I dined with Preville several times. It was a
rare thing to meet so pleasant a companion at
table. His witty merriment charmed every one
of us. He was very clever at telling anecdotes
of an extremely piquant nature. People sought
eagerly for the chance of being together with him,
Dugazon, his successor in comic rules, woulc
have made an excellent comedian if the desire tc
make the public laugh had not led him pretty
often into farce. He was very good in certain
parts as valet. He had a biting manner, a perfeci
expression, and might have equalled Preville if he
had avoided exaggeration. One is induced tc
believe that his nature led him to choose thai
wretched style by the fact that the shade or
difference on the stage between him and his pre-
decessor was evident in the salons as well. In
the latter, Preville was always a pleasant man,
while Dugazon was a very witty buffoon. He
was therefore only received occasionally in order
to amuse the guests. He was, indeed, very enter-
taining, especially after dinner. His conduct ir^
the Revolution was atrocious. He was one of
those who went to fetch the King at Varennes.
while an eye-witness related to me how he had
seen him at the door of the carriage with a gun
on his shoulder. All this in spite of the fact of
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THE MUSIC LESSON.
After Moreau, junior.
To face p. 90 ■
Memoirs of Madame Elisaheth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
lis having been overwhelmed with favours by
he Court, especially by the Count d'Artois.
I remember seeing Mile Doligny in young
wading parts, which she acted to perfection. She
/as so natural, witty and good that her great
alent made one forget her ugliness. I also saw
he debut of Mile Contat. She was extremely
retty and well made, but acted so badly at first
lat nobody expected she would become so
xcellent an actress. Her charming face was not
Iways sufficient to keep her from being hissed,
^hen Beaumarchais gave her the part of Suzanne
1 the Marriage of Figaro. From that time on-
ards she had one success after another, in the
51e of grande coquette at first, then in parts more
iiitable to her age and particularly her figure,
fcich, unfortunately, had grown too plump. Mile
bntat married M. de Parny, a nephew of the
bet of that name, but the marriage was not
finounced until after she had left the theatre,
fer face remained attractive until her death. I
ive never seen a more bewitching smile. Her
*eat wit rendered her conversation very spicy,
hile she seemed to me so pleasant that I often
vited her to my house.
Mile Contat was admirably seconded in all her
»les by Mole, who almost always acted with
^r. Though never the equal of Preville, Mole
ias a great actor. He had both grace and dignity
id filled the stage, so to speak. Moreover, I
ive seldom seen so varied and brilliant a talent
his. I received him at my house several times.
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brl
Though his acting was very fine, Mol^ had e
outstanding social gifts excepting a very goo
manner.
Fleury, who succeeded him in the foremc
roles, was the last to maintain the tradition
high comedy. He had less lyricism and sublimi
of style than Mole, but he surpassed all othe
in portraying young grand gendemen. As 1
was very witty and well-mannered, he mix<
with high society and assimilated so well i
customs, charms and whims that a few years a^
he still offered us a perfect copy of models th
have died out.
When all the great actors I have mention<
began to grow old, there arose a young tale
who is the ornament of the French stage to-da
Mile Mars was inimitable in playing the part
the Ingenue. She excelled in that of Victorii
in Philosophe sans le Savoir^ and in a score
others in which no one else has been able to tal
her place, for it is impossible to be so lifelil
and moving. She was indeed nature itself wi
all its charm. When you saw Mile Mars, n
dear friend, she had already taken the place
Mile Con tat, whom she alone was able to eclips
No doubt you remember her pretty face, fi]
figure and angelic voice. Fortunately they ha
all been so well preserved that Mile Mars has i
age at all, and never will have, I believe. Tl
enthusiasm of the public every evening prov
that it shares my opinion. I remember twi
seeing Mile Arnoult act in Castor et Pollux
92
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tmoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
le Grand Opera. I was then hardly able to
idge of her talent as an actress. I remember,
bwever, that she seemed to me to have both
tace and the power of expression. As for her
lent as a singer, I was so horribly bored by the
usic of those days that I listened too badly to
; able to speak about it. Mile Arnoult was
)t at all pretty ; her mouth was out of keeping
Lth her face, her eyes alone imparting an expres-
)n in which resided the remarkable spirit that
is made her famous. Many anecdotes about
br have been told and printed. Here is one
lich I do not think is known and which I find
ery comical : She was attending the marriage
her daughter together with the bridegroom's
lother, aunt, and several female relations. During
le wedding rite, Mile Arnoult turned round
nd said to them : " How nice ! I am the only
irl here ! "
Mile Arnoult was succeeded by a woman whose
utstanding talent delighted us a long while.
he was Mme Saint-Hubert, who had to be
card in order to realize what heights lyrical
•agedy can reach. Not only did she possess a
lorious voice, but she was also a great actress,
t was her good fortune to have to sing to the
peras of Piccini, Sacchini, and Gluck, whose
eautiful and expressive music thoroughly suited
er talent, which was full of expression, faithfulness
) life and nobility. It is impossible to be more
ffecting than she was in the roles of Alceste,
)idon, etc. She was^always so genuine and
^ 93
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brm
noble, that her song drew tears from the whok
theatre. I still remember certain words and notes
which it was impossible to resist.
Mme Saint-Hubert was not pretty, but she
had a charming expression. Count d'Entraigues,
a very handsome man, much distinguished foi
his wit, fell so much in love with her that he
married her. When the Revolution broke out
he took refuge with her in London. It was
there that they were both assassinated one evening
as they were getting into a carriage. Neithei
the assassins nor the motives for such a wicked
crime were ever discovered.
As far as singing was concerned, the entire
Opera held nobody but Mme Saint-Hubert foi
me, so I will not talk of those who sang with her,
I could hardly listen to them. I preferred tc
keep part of my attention for the ballets, in which
several remarkable talents were appearing. Garde^
and Vestris pere held the front rank. I oftcr
saw them dancing together, especially in a Spanish
dance in one of Gretry's operas, which attracted
all Paris. It was a pas de deux in which the twc
dancers pursued Mile Guimard, who was verj
small and thin. On this account they wer(
likened to two big dogs quarrelling over a bone
Gardel always seemed to me to be much inferio
to Vestris pere^ who was a big, handsome man
dancing solemn, stately dances to perfection. I
am at a loss to describe the consummate grac<
with which he doffed and replaced his hat wher
performing the greeting that preceded the minuet.
94
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
n fact, all the young debutantes at the Court
ook him as a model in learning how to make
heir three curtseys.
Vestris pere was succeeded by his son, the most
urprising dancer ever seen, so great were his
jrace and lightness. Although our modern dancers
o not stint the number of their pirouettes, none
f them will ever make as many as he did. He
/ould suddenly spring into the air in so amazing
manner that you thought he had wings. This
ed Vestris pere to say : *' If my son touches the
[round, he does so by way of procedure for the
ake of his colleagues."
Mile Pelin and Mile Allard were two dancers
n what is called the grotesque style in Italy.
fhey did stunts, endless pirouettes without any
larm. Both of them, however, though very
fout, possessed an astonishing agility, especially
AWq Allard.
Mile Guimard's talent was altogether different.
p^er dance was a mere sketch. She danced
othing but small steps, though with such graceful
lovements that the public preferred her to all
ther dancers. She was small, slim and shapely,
nd although ugly, had such fine features that
ven at the age of forty-five she seemed on the
age to be no more than fifteen.
A happy rival to the Grand Op^ra was the
jpera Comique, which I saw constructed. It
Dok the place of what was called the Italian
xomedy. It would be hard for me to tell you
nything about the latter, if I did not remember
95
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brur
having been there to see Carlin. Though ver)
young at the time, I still retain a memory o]
him. Carlin acted Harlequin in sketches, a sor-
of proverbs, which required witty actors. Hii
flashes of wit were inexhaustible, the spontaneit)
and brightness of his acting making him ar
exceptional actor. Though very stout, he wai
very nimble in his movements. I was told tha:
he studied his graceful gestures by watching
kittens at play. He certainly had their suppleness
His appearance alone was sufficient to draw th<
public, fill the theatre and charm the spectators
When he disappeared, the Italian Comedy cam<
to an end.
The lyrical company which took his place wa
very talented and sang the operas of Duni, Philida
and Gretry, etc. The public loved Caillot abov
all. He left the theatre when I was still ver
young. Nevertheless, twice I saw him act i:
Annette et Lubin. His handsome looks an^
glorious voice would have remained in my memory
even though I had not had the pleasure later oi
of acting in comedy with him in society. Durin|
one of his greatest successes on the stage a sligh
accident happened to his throat, as sometime
happens with the best of singers. Somebody i
the audience hissed, and Caillot was so deepl
offended that he abandoned the stage from thj
evening, and neither prayers nor supplications hav
induced him to appear in public since.
Besides his great talent, Caillot had plenty c
wit. He was very charming in society, whei
96
emoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
open-hearted gaiety created an atmosphere of
yfulness. He was a wonderful story-teller. At
Dunt de Vaudreuil's at Gennevilliers he was the
urce of great amusement at table and in the
on, where he would relate a spicy anecdote or
ig to us in his beautiful voice the romances
d ditties of the day. As he was a great sports-
pn, he was always invited to the shooting parties.
Dunt de Vaudreuil, with whom he was always on
iendly terms, induced the Count d'Artois to
ve him a little pavilion called Le Belloi, that
as situated at the end of the terrace at Saint
ermain and had a very pretty garden.
There, Caillot lived in great happiness with his
fe and children. I stayed at his house several
lys, when his happiness reminded me of Lubin,
lose role I had often seen him perform. In
ving him the pavilion, the Count d'Artois
id named him captain of the hunt of the whole
strict. He wore the uniform of this office, and
was in that dress that I painted him carrying
s gun on his shoulder. His handsome, laughing
oks inspired me so much that I finished the
Drtrait in one sitting
When the Revolution came, Caillot fell under
rave suspicion because he had received favours
om a prince. I was told, though I refuse to
dieve, that he proved to be a thankless man
id behaved like a Jacobin. If the story is true,
am convinced that fear and his wife turned his
I have reasons for believing that his wife
rain.
as an ardent revolutionary.
G
When I
was m
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bru
Rome in 1791, I received a letter from her urgin
me to return to France, and telling me that w
should all be equal and that it would be th
golden age. Fortunately I did not believe hei
for one knows what sort of golden age it wj
that followed. Shortly after receiving this lett<
I learnt that Mme Caillot had thrown herself 01
of a window in despair.
Laruette and his wife remained on the stag
longer than Caillot. They were both perfect i
their style. Mme Laruette especially acted in
charming manner with much ingenuity, and san
with inimitable taste and expression. Thoug
more than fifty years old, she looked no moi
than sixteen, her figure being so young and he
features delicate. Not only did she avoid th
ridiculous in acting naive persons, but made ther
charming. Perhaps the enthusiasm and regrets c
the public were never so strong as on the da
she left the stage, when she acted for the laj
time the two young parts in Isabelle et Gertrudi
and in some other opera. Though I saw her ac
very rarely, I still remember her perfecdy.
I come at last to the actress whose dramati
career I was able to follow in its entirety. Th^
was Mme Dugazon, the most perfect talent ths
the Opera Comique has ever possessed.
Never has such truthfulness been seen on th
stage. Mme Dugazon was one of those bor
talents who seem to owe nothing to study. On
was unconscious of the actress. One was awar
only of Babet, Countess d'Albert or Nicolettc
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Noble, naive, graceful, spicy, she had a score of
aspects, making her accents suit the person. Her
voice was rather weak, but it was sufficient for
:ears and laughter, for all situations and roles.
3retry and Dalayrac, who worked with her, were
nad about her, and I, too, was mad.
The latter word reminds me of a role in which
nany vain attempts have been made to copy her.
N^obody has ever been able to give us back Nina,
N^ina at once so sedate and passionate, so unhappy
ind touching, the mere sight of her drew tears
From the spectators. I believe I saw Nina twenty
times at least, and each time my emotion was the
jame. I was too much thrilled by Mme Dugazon
|iot to invite her often to supper at my house.
iVe noticed that after playing Nina she still kept
her eyes rather haggard, so that she remained
^ina all the evening. To this power of steeping
lerself so thoroughly in her role is due, no doubt,
[he astounding perfection of her talent.
Mme Dugazon was a royalist in heart and soul.
This she proved to the public one evening long
ifter the outbreak of the Revolution, when she
?vas taking the part of lady's maid in Evenements
Imprevus. The Queen was present at the per-
"ormance. In a duet which the valet begins with
he words " I love my master tenderly," Mme
Dugazon, whose reply was, " Ah, as I love my
nistress," turned to Her Majesty's box and sang
ler lines with great emotion, while bowing towards
he Queen. I was told that shordy afterwards
he public (and what a public !) wanted to take
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
its revenge for that noble action by insisting on
her singing some dreadful thing which used to
be sung on the stage every evening. Mme
Dugazon would not yield, but left the stage.
The unusual length of this letter proves, my
dear friend, how much I loved acting in comedy
myself, for I have spared you no details. Adieu,
loo
"IT'S A SON, MONSIEUR!'
After Moreau, junior (1776).
To face p. loi.
CHAPTER IX
Chantilly — Le Raincy — Mme de Montesson — Old Princess de
Conti — Gennevilliers — Our plays — The " Marriage of
Figaro'''' — Beaumarchais — M, et Mme de Villette — Moulin
Joli — Watelet — M. de Morfontaine — Marquis de
Montesquieu — My horoscope.
TO MY GREAT REGRET, I was unable
to stay in the country for any length of
time, but I never missed a chance of passing
a few days there. I was invited to stay at some
of the finest places in the neighbourhood of Paris.
I saw the magnificent fetes at Chantilly, organized
and presided over by the Prince de Conde, who
returned to France with Louis XVIII. You know
the splendid Chateau de Chantilly. Its immense
gallery was then adorned with French armoury
of different centuries, some of the pieces being so
enormous and heavy that they seemed to have
been made for giants. It was, I think, a suitable
decoration for the house of a descendant of the
great Cond^. At the end of the gallery was the
nask of Henri IV, taken immediately after his
peath and still showing a few hairs of the good
King's eyebrows. I do not know what became of
this mask, which was reproduced a good deal in
plaster. As for the armoury, it was pillaged during
the Revolution and part of it is now in a museum.
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
The chateau had a certain grandeur, which
made it worthy of its owners. The dining-room
was very beautiful, having marble columns, between
which were large marble basins that received
cascades of limpid and constandy changing water.
The room seemed to be in the open air and looked
quite magical. The immense park put one in
mind of fairyland with its lakes and flower-
bordered streams. The hamlet was charming, its
cottages having interiors that sparkled with the
greatest magnificence. Everything, indeed, made
ChantiUy a wonderful abode. Strangers went there
in crowds in the happy days I am talking of,
when the master of that beautiful place lived
there amidst the devoted inhabitants, who were
overwhelmed with his favours and have deeply
regretted him ever since.
In 1782 I stayed a short time at Raincy, having,
been invited there by the Duke of Orleans in
order to paint his portrait and that of Mme de
Montesson. With the exception of the pleasure
I took in joining the shooting parties, I spent a
rather dull time there. After my sittings, I had
no agreeable society apart from that of Mme
Berthollet, a very pleasant woman, who played
the harp beautifully. Saint-Georges, the clever,
muscular mulatto, was one of the shooting party,
It was there that I realized how some men,
especially princes, get passionately fond of shoot-
ing. When many people are gathered together, it
is an exercise that provides a really fine spectacle
The general fussing about, together with th(
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THE COMTE DE PROVENCE.
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
sound of the horns, is truly something war-
like.
Talking of this trip, I cannot recall without
laughing a certain incident that shocked me a
good deal at the time. While I was painting
Mme de Montesson, the old Princess de Conti
came one day on a visit. This Princess always
called me " mademoiselle." It is true that once
upon a time great ladies always addressed their
inferiors in this way. But this disdainful Court
manner had gone out of fashion with Louis XV.
I was then about to go to bed with my first child,
which made the matter altogether odd.
If my trip to Raincy was not very gay, I cannot
say the same of my visits to Gennevilliers, which
then belonged to Count de Vaudreuil, one of the
most agreeable men in existence. Gennevilliers
was in no way picturesque. Count de Vaudreuil
had bought the place largely on behalf of the
Count d'Artois, because it contained some fine
ihooting districts, and he had adorned it as well
IS he could.
The house was furnished in the best taste,
though without any magnificence. It had a small
3Ut charming acting-room, in which my sister-
n-law, my brother, M. de Riviere and I per-
formed several comic operas with Mme Dugazon,
Carat, Caillot and Laruette.
The two last, who had retired from the stage,
(acted wonderfully and with such simplicity that
one day when they were rehearsing the scene
of the two fathers in Rose et Colas^ I thought they
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
were talking together, and I said to them : " Come,
let's begin the rehearsal."
I was given the part of Rose. Garat acted
that of Colas rather awkwardly, but his singing
was so wonderful ! He was delightful to hear in
La Colonie, especially, the music of which is
ravishing, in my opinion.
He took the part of Saint-Albe, while I took
the role of Marine, and my sister-in-law that of
the countess, which she played like an angel.
She and M. de Riviere were real actors ; they
would have shone on the stage.
The Count d'Artois and his society came to
witness our performances.
I confess that I was so afraid of all these fine
people the first time they came without my having
been warned, that I did not wish to act. It was
only through fear of disappointing the friends who
were to act with me that I decided to appear on
the stage. And the Count d'Artois, v/ith his
usual grace, came in the interval between the
two plays to encourage us with all sorts of
compliments.
The last performance given in the acting-room
at Gennevilliers was that of the Marriage of
Figaro by the actors of the Comedie Fran^aise.
I remember Mile Sainval took the part of the
countess. Mile Olivier that of the page, while
Mile Con tat was charming in the role of Suzanne.
Beaumarchais, however, must have worried M.
de Vaudreuil enormously to succeed in having
such an inconvenient piece performed in that
104
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
lieatre. Dialogue and couplets, the whole piece
n fact, was directed against the Court, of which
L great part was present, not to mention our
xcellent Prince. Everybody felt the incon-
/■enience of such a lack of taste. Beaumarchais,
lowever, was none the less overwhelmed with
atisfaction, running about like a man beside
limself. When a complaint was made about the
leat, he did not give one time to open the windows,
)ut smashed all the panes with his walking-stick ;
vhich led to its being said, after the performance,
hat he had smashed the windows in more than
>ne sense.
Count de Vaudreuil had also to regret in more
ban one sense having given his patronage to the
juthor of the Marriage of Figaro,
\ Shortly after the performance in question,
ieaumarchais begged him for an interview. His
squest was granted immediately, and he arrived
it Versailles so early that the Count had scarcely
jot out of bed. He then spoke of a financial
oject he had thought out and which was expected
bring him much profit. Finally he offered
fount de Vaudreuil a considerable sum if he
^ould consent to assist in realizing the project,
he Count listened to him with the utmost calm,
'^hen Beaumarchais had finished talking, the
ount said to him : " Monsieur de Beaumarchais,
u could not have come at a more favourable
loment, for I have spent a good night, had a
ood digestion, and never felt so well as I do
)-day. If you had made such a proposal to
105
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bru
me yesterday, I would have had you thrown ou
of the window."
One of the beautiful country places I saw wa
Villette. The Marquise de Villette, " Belle e
Bonne," having invited me to visit her there,
went and stayed several days. Among my papei
I find some very pretty verses which M. d
Villette wrote on the occasion of my arrival,
copy them here and beg you not to forget thj
it is a poet who speaks :
J'avais lu dans les vieux auteurs
Que les dieux autrefois visitaient les pasterus,
Et qu'ils venaient charmer leur belle solitude :
J'amais me bercer de ces douces erreurs.
Embellir ces for^ts devint ma seule etude,
J'y creai des jardins, je les semai de fleurs j
Mais des dieux vainement j'attendais la presence.
O sublime Le Brun ! vous, I'orgueil de la France,
Dont I'esprit createur, dont I'immortel crayon
De plaire et d'etonner a la double puissance
Et fait naitre I'amour par I'admiration,
La gloire qui vous accompagne
Aggrandit ce petit chateau j
Elle ranime la campagne j
Vous nous rendez le jour plus beau,
Et vous realisez mes chateaux en Espagne.^
' " I had read in old authors that the gods once used to visit shepherc
in order to give delight to their solitude. I loved to cherish these sweet erra
It was my one aim to embellish these forests. I created gardens there
sowed them with flowers. But I waited in vain for the gods to come,
sublime Le Brun ! you, the pride of France, whose creative spirit and immo]
pencil had power both to please and astonish, and to make love spring fr<
admiration, the glory that accompanies you, increases the size of this lit
chateau and enlivens the country. You make the day more beautiful for
and realize my castles in Spain."
io6
femoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
\ Once we found in the park a man who was
Minting the fences. This dauber was so efficient
iiat M. de Villette compHmented him.
I " Me ! " the man replied. " I make a point of
otting out in a day what Rubens painted in a
:etime.
Mme de Villette was a very graceful hostess,
le was, above all, extremely benevolent. In her
^rk I saw a round, natural hillock where she
ias said to gather the village maidens and teach
lem like a schoolmaster.
I Ah ! how I would have loved to go for walks
ith you in the wood at Moulin Joli ! It was
le of those places one never forgets, so beautiful,
I varied, picturesque, Elysian, wild, ravishing !
nagine a large island covered with woods, gardens
id orchards, cut through the middle by the
bine. The shores were connected by a bridge
boats, decorated along the sides with boxes of
)wers, while seats placed at intervals allowed
le to enjoy the balmy air and wonderful
ews a long while. The bridge, seen from afar
Jth its reflection in the water, had a most charming
ect. Lofty trees of sturdy aspect lined the
ht shore, while the left was covered with
ormous poplars and weeping-willows, whose
inder green branches reached down to the water
e bowers. One of these willows formed a
rge vault beneath which one could rest or dream
ilightfuUy. Words fail to express the happiness
felt in that delightful spot, with which I have
sver seen anything to be compared.
107
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brt
This Elysian place belonged to an acquaintanc
of niine, M. Watelet, a great lover of the ar
and the author of a poem on painting. He w;
a very distinguished man, of an attractive dii
position, who had a good number of friend
On his enchanted island I found him in keepin
with all his surroundings. There he gracefull
received a small but very well-chosen compan]
A friend (Marguerite Lecomte), to whom he hs
been attached over thirty years, was established i
his house, time having, so to speak, sanctifie
their relationship, so that they were received i
the best society, together with the lady's husban(
who, strange to say, never left her.
Later on, in 1788, Moulin Joli was bought I
a certain M. Gaudran, a wealthy merchant, wl
invited me and my family to stay a month ther
The new owner had no idea of what was picturesqu
and I was sorry to see that he had already spoi
some parts of that Elysian place. Happily tl
chief beauties had remained intact. Robert, tl
landscape painter, and I found all the enchantme
of the place once again. During the visit
question I painted one of my best portraits, th
of Robert, with my palette in my hand. Lebrui
Pindare composed his Exegi Monumentum^ a prou
piece justified by its beauty. My brother aL
wrote some very pretty verses. Those woo(
inspired all of us. M. de Calonne, who ga^
me so many things, as you are aware, is said ■
have given me Moulin Joli as well. Ah ! if
had had Moulin Joli, I would never have left i
108
lemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
ly great regret, however, is not to have bought
on my return to France, when it was for sale.
was prevented from buying it through the
^lay of some funds I was expecting from Russia.
: was sold for eighty thousand francs to a copper-
nith, who recovered his outlay by cutting down
1 the beautiful trees. And now, when my
lemory takes me back to that delightful place, I
nn filled with the sad thought of its complete
festruction.
Shordy before the Revolution I went to Mor-
)ntaine, and from there we made a trip to
rmenonville, where I saw the tomb of J. J.
ousseau. The fame of the beautiful park of
rmenonville spoilt the pleasure of the trip for
le. There were inscriptions at almost every step —
veritable tyranny over the mind.
At Morfontaine I always preferred the pic-
iresque part of the park which is not set out
the English way, where there is now a great
ke. All artists accord it the front rank in its
^nd. At the time I mention, M. de Morfontaine
ad adorned it with canals, on which we used to
boating. The lake was not then so large,
ad was divided by charming islands. At present
lere is only one small island, which looks to mc
ce a piece of pastry in the middle of that immense
retch of water.
M. de Morfontaine received his visitors with
ich unaffected kindness that they felt quite at
Dme. Count de Vaudreuil, Lebrun the poet,
le Chevalier de Coigny, so amiable and gay,
109
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Bru
Brogniart, Robert, Riviere and my brother, playe
charades every night and woke one another u
to tell them. This foolish gaiety proves ho^
great was the freedom one enjoyed in that beautifi
place. In truth, order was banished from it i
well as awkwardness. Happily we were all inti
mate friends and few in number, for I have neve
seen a house-party so ill-behaved. M. de Moi
fontaine carried the Bohemianism to an unimagin
able degree, and you can realize how much hJ
house was affected by such a mode of living.
In those days M. Le Pelletier de Morfontairi
was merchants' provost. He built one of tl:
bridges of Paris. I remember he used to can
in his pocket a little note-book in which he cor
stantly wrote the remarkable things he heard i
society. I often tried to read over his shoulde
but though his letters were very large, I was nev<
able to decipher a single word, so shapeless w
his handwriting. I challenge his heirs to mal
head or tail of the memoirs he must have left.
On arriving at Maupertuis after Morfontain
one could not help comparing the two house
The difference was striking. Order and magn
ficence reigned everywhere at Maupertuis. I
the latter place, M. de Montesquiou lived like
great gentleman. Being equerry to Monsiet
(later Louis XVIII), he had no difficulty in puttir
at our disposal horses, caleches and carriages
every sort. The meals were splendid. Tt
chateau was large enough to accommodate thirt
or forty households, all well lodged and cared fo
no
Pi
H
o
1
iemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
I , — — — __
^nd this numerous company was constantly
enewed.
; The mother and wife of M. de Montesquiou
i^ere extremely kind to me. His daughter-in-law,
l^ho later became governess to Napoleon's son,
ms gentle, natural, and very lovable. I had
ften seen him in Paris, and he always seemed to
jie very witty, though dry and censorious. At
llaupertuis he was gende and affable — in a word,
(together another man. Whenever we happened
) be just a few, he would read to us in the evening
an excellent way. It was at Maupertuis, while
was with child and unwell, that I painted his
or trait and have never been satisfied with it since.
I remember one evening when we were few
number, the Marquis drew the horoscope of
ich one of us. He foretold I should live a long
lile and become a lovable old woman, because
was not coquettish. Now that I have lived a
ng while, am I a lovable old woman ? I doubt
But at least I am an old lover, for I love you
nderly.
II I
CHAPTER X
The Duke de Nivernais — Marechal de Noailles — His saying
Louis XV — Mme Du Barry — Louveciennes — Duke de Brisi
— His death — Mme Du Barry's death — Portraits I paint
at Louveciennes.
I DINED SEVERAL TIMES at Saint Ou(
with the Duke de Nivernais, who assemble
in a beautiful house the most agreeable socie
in existence.
The Duke de Nivernais, whose grace and refin
ment have become household words, had not
and gentle manners without the least afFectatio
He was noted above all for his extremely galla
behaviour towards women of all ages. In tl
respect I might have referred to him as a matchl<
example, had I not known Count de Vaudrei
who, though much younger than M. de Niverna
coupled an exquisite gallantry with a politenc
that was all the more flattering because it car,
from the heart. It is, however, very difficult
convey an adequate idea of the urbanity, t'
gracious ease and pleasant manners, which ga
so much charm to Paris society forty yej
ago. The gallantry of which I talk, for instan*
has completely vanished. In those days, worn
reigned ; the Revolution dethroned them.
112
lemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
The Duke de Nivernais was small and very
lin. Though already very old, when I knew
im, he was yet full of life. He was passionately
)nd of poetry and wrote charming verses.
I also dined often with the Marechal de Noailles
t his beautiful chateau situated at the entrance
) Saint Germain. It had then a very large, well-
ept park. The Marechal was very nice. His
it and mirth kept all the guests lively. The
tter he chose from among the literary celebrities
nd the foremost people of the town and Court.
lis wit was original and effective. He could
arely resist the desire to express a mischievous
lought. It was he who said to Louis XV, when
be latter discovered the olives he was eating at
le hunt were bad : " It must be the bottom
f the barrel. Sire." This remark brings to my
jiind a woman whom I have not yet mentioned,
lough I knew a good deal about her. She was
woman who sprang from the lowest class of
bciety and passed through the palace of a king
n her way to the scaffold, and whose sad end
tones for the scandalous dazzle of her life. It
^as in 1786 that I first went to Louveciennes,
^here I had promised to paint Mme Du Barry.
was extremely curious to see this favourite, of
hom I had heard so often. Mme Du Barry
ust have been then about forty-five years old.
e was big, though not too much so. She was
ump. Her throat was rather strong but very
reautiful. Her face was still charming, the features
leing regular and graceful. Her hair was ash-
H 113
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Bru
coloured and curly like a child's. Only he
complexion began to spoil.
She received me very gracefully and seeme
to me to have a very good style. I thoughi
however, that she was more natural in he
mind than in her manners. Besides havin;
the look of a coquette, for her eyes wer
never completely open, she had a pronunciatioi
that sounded childish and was ill-suited to he
age.
She put me up in a suite of rooms behind th
machine at Marly which annoyed me terribl'
with its noise. Underneath my apartment wa
a neglected gallery in which was a great disarra;
of busts, vases, columns, rare marbles and lots o
valuable objects. One might have thought the]
belonged to the mistress of several sovereigns wh(
had enriched her with their gifts. These relic
of grandeur were in direct contrast with tb
simplicity of the mistress of the house in he
clothes and mode of life.
Summer and winter, Mme Du Barry never won
anything but dressing-gown robes of cambric o:
white muslin, while every day in all weather
she went for walks in her park or outside withou
any mischievous result, her life in the country
having made her health so robust. She had kep
up no relations with the Court that had surroundec
her so long. Mme de Souza, the wife of di(
Portuguese Ambassador, and the Marquise dt
|;| Brunoy were, I believe, the only women she sa\^
at that time, and during my three visits to hei
114
11
i
MADAME LE BRUN.
By herself.
To face p. 115.
I
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
louse, at three different periods, I realized that
isitors never troubled her solitude.^
I do not know, however, why the Ambassadors
f Tippoo-Sahib thought themselves obliged to
►ay a visit to the former mistress of Louis XV.
>J^ot only did they come to Louveciennes, but
ley brought presents for Mme Du Barry, among
ther things several pieces of muslin richly em-
iroidered in gold. She gave me one of them, a
uperb piece of work with large, separate flowers,
he colours and gold of which were shaded perfectly.
Most evenings Mme Du Barry and I sat alone
y the fireside. Sometimes she talked to me of
^ouis XV and his Court, always with the greatest
fspect for the one and the greatest regard for
jie other. But she avoided all details. It was
^vious she preferred to say as little as possible
out the matter, so that her conversation was
nerally rather trifling. Nevertheless, she was a
nd woman both in speech and action, and did
uch good at Louveciennes, where the poor
^ere looked after by her. We often went together
) visit some unfortunate man or woman, and I
imember her just indignation one day when she
w a woman in child-birth who lacked every-
ing. " How is this ! " cried Mme Du Barry.
You have neither linen, nor wine, nor bouillon ? "
-" Alas ! I have nothing. Madam." We went
ick to the chateau immediately and Mme Du
• I often met there M. de Monville. He was pleasant and very elegant,
d took us to see his estate called Le Desert, the house of which was only a
rer.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bn
Barry sent for her housekeeper and other servan
who had failed to carry out her orders. I ca
hardly describe her fury against them all, whi
she made them do up a parcel of linen and sei
them off with it at once, together with son
bouillon and Bordeaux wine. |
Every day after dinner we took coffee in tli
pavilion that is so famous for its style and tl
wealth of its adornments. The first time Mn
Du Barry showed it to me she said to me : '*
is in this room that Louis XV gave me the honoi
of dining with me. There was a tribune abov
for the musicians who sang during the meal
The salon was delightful. Besides having one
the most beautiful outlooks in the world, it hi
chimneys and doors of most valuable workmanshi
Even the locks could be admired as masterpiec
of the goldsmith's art, while the furniture was
an indescribable richness and elegance.
Louis XV no longer stretched himself out (
those magnificent sofas. His place was taken 1
the Duke de Brissac, whom we often left thei
as he liked to take his nap. The Duke de Briss
lived as though settled at Louveciennes, but the
was nothing in his manners or in those of Mn
Du Barry to suggest that he was anything mo:
than the friend of the mistress of the chatea
However, it was easy to see that a tender attacl
ment united them. Perhaps it was this vei
attachment that cost them their lives. When Mn
Du Barry crossed over to England before tl
outbreak of the Terror in order to recover h(
ii6
THE COMTESSE DU BARRY.
From the painting by Madame Le Brun (1789).
To r'acep. 117.
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
tolen diamonds, she was very well received by
he English. They did all in their power to
)revent her from returning to France. In fact,
he was just on the point of leaving when some
fiends unharnessed her horses. Only her desire
rejoin the Duke de Brissac, whom she had
eft hidden in her chateau at Louveciennes, caused
ler to resist the entreaties of those who wished to
ieep her in London, where the sale of her diamonds
^^ould have maintained her in comfort. To her
nisfortune, she left and went to rejoin the Duke
t Louveciennes. Shortly after, he was arrested
tefore her eyes and thrown into prison at Orleans,
"rom there he was taken with three others,
ostensibly for transference to Versailles. All four
i^ere put into a tumbril and, scarcely half-way on
he journey, ruthlessly massacred !
1 The bloody head of the Duke de Brissac was
fiken to Mme Du Barry, and you can imagine
low much that unhappy woman must have suffered
jt the horrible sight. She was not long in suc-
lambing to the fate reserved for those who
bssessed any fortune, as well as for those who had
great name. She was betrayed and denounced
a little negro called Zamore, who is often
entioned in memoirs of the time as having
en overwhelmed with her kindnesses as well
those of Louis XV. Arrested and thrown into
ison, Mme Du Barry was judged and condemned
death by the Revolutionary Tribunal at the
ad of 1793. She was the only woman among
) many who perished in those frightful days
117
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bru)
who was unable to bear the sight of the scaffold
She cried out, implored the mercy of the atrocioui
crowd that surrounded her, and that crowd wai
moved to such an extent that the executionei
made haste to finish his job. This has alwayj
convinced me that if the victims of that execrabL
time had not had the noble pride to die courageously
the Terror would have ended much sooner. Mei
of undeveloped intelligence have too little imagina
tion to be moved by an inward suffering, and th^
people's pity is much more easily excited than it
admiration.
I painted three portraits of Mme Du Barry
In the first I painted her en busie, a small three
quarters, attired in a dressing-gown with a stra\
hat. In the second she is dressed in white satin
holding a garland in one hand, while one of he
arms leans on a pedestal. I painted this portrai
with the utmost care. Like the first, it wa
designed for the Duke de Brissac. I saw it agaii
quite recendy. The old General who now own
it must have had the head touched up, for it ]
not the one I painted. It has rouge right up t
the eyes, whereas Mme Du Barry never use
any. I disown, therefore, this head, which is no
my work. The rest of the picture is intact ani
well preserved. It has just been sold, the Genen
having died.
The third portrait of Mme Du Barry by m
is in my possession. I began it towards the middl
of September 1789. At Louveciennes we hear
the sound of endless cannonades, and I remembe
118
Memoirs oj Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
the poor woman saying to me : *' If Louis XV
had been alive, nothing like this would have
happened."
I had only painted the head and sketched the
figure and arms when I was obliged to make a
journey to Paris, hoping to return to finish the
portrait. Berthier and Foulon, however, had just
been assassinated. My terror was so great that
I could think of nothing but leaving the country
at once. I left the picture half-finished. I do
not know how Count Louis de Narbonne happened
to come by it during my absence. On my return
to France I received it back from him, and I
have now finished it.
The sad contents of this letter warns me that
I have come to the period of my life which I
should like to be able to forget. I would stifle
ftll memory of it, as I often do, had I not promised
:o give you a sincere and complete account of my
life.
There will no longer be any question of enjoy-
Inents, Grecian suppers, or comedies, but days of
mguish and terror. I will put off telling you
ibout them till my next letter.
119
CHAPTER XI
Romainville — Markhal de Segur — La MalmaUon — Mme Le
Couteux du Malay — VAhhe Sieyes — Alme Juguier — A
saying of the Queen — Mme Campan — Her letter — Mme
Rousseau — The first Dauphin,
I CANNOT THINK of the last country
seats I visited, without finding the memory
of my sweetest moments mingled with many
a painful memory as well. In 1788, for instance,
I went with Robert to stay a few days at Romain-
ville, the home of the Marechal de Segur. On
our way we noticed that the peasants no longer
doffed their hats to us. On the contrary, they
looked at us insolently, while some even threatened
us with their sticks. On arriving at Romainville
we were overtaken by a terrible thunderstorm.
The sky was of a yellowish colour, tinged with
dark grey, and when these terrifying clouds split
up, thousands of lightning flashes came out to"
the accompaniment of fearful thunder and such
enormous hailstones that they laid waste the whole
of the country forty leagues around Paris. During
the storm, Mme de Segur and I looked at each
other with fear and trembling. We seemed to
see in that terrible day an omen of the misfortunes
which, without being an astrologer, one could
have then foretold.
120
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
That evening and the following day we all
vvent with the Marechal to look at the sad effect
Df the storm. Corn, vines, fruit trees — everything
was destroyed. The peasants were weeping and
tearing at their hair. Everyone hastened to help
these unfortunate people. The great landowners
gave a lot of money. One rich man immediately
distributed forty thousand francs out of his own
pocket among the ill-fated people around him.
ro the shame of mankind, this very man was
3ne of the first to be massacred by the revolutionary
:annibals the following year.
The summer of the same year, 1788, I spent
I fortnight at Malmaison, which then belonged to
he Countess du Molay. Mme du Molay was a
TQTj fashionable, pretty woman. Her wit was
lot electrifying, but she had an intelligent under-
tanding of other people's. Count Olivares was
;stablished in her house at the time, and she had
5aid him a compliment by having placed at the
mtrance to a road at the top of the park an
nscription bearing the words : " Sierra Morena."
31ivares was not what may be called a pleasant
nan. The most outstanding feature I noticed
ibout him was his dirtiness. He filled his pockets
vith Spanish snuff, using them in place of snuff-
boxes.
The Duke de Crillon and the dear Abbe
Delille came to Malmaison very often, and I was
rery glad to meet them there. Mme du Molay
vas very fond of going for lonely walks, while
had a similar preference. So it was agreed
121
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
that we should carry a sprig of foliage if either
of us did not wish to be accompanied or approached,
I never went without my sprig, but I threw it
away pretty sharp whenever I caught sight of the
Abbe Delille.
In June 1789 I went to dine at Malmaison.
I found there the Abbe Sieyes and several othei
friends of the Revolution. M. du Molay ravec
at the top of his voice against the nobles. Every-
body shouted, laying down the law as to all the
things necessary for a general upheaval. One
could have called it a real club. The conversations
frightened me terribly. After dinner the Abbe
Sieyes said to one of the persons whose name
I've forgotten : " Really, I believe we shall gc
too far." — *' They will go so far that they wil
get lost on the way," I remarked to Mme du
Molay, who had also heard the Abbe and waJ
grieved at so many gloomy portents.
Round about the same time I stayed a fev^
days at Marly with Mme Auguier, the sister o
Mme Campan, who was also in the service of th<
Queen. She had a fine chateau and park neaj
the machine. One day, as we were togethei
looking out of a window overlooking the courtyarc
which faced the main road, we saw a drunker
man enter and roll on the ground. With hei
usual kindness, Mme Auguier called her husband*!
manservant and told him to go and help the poor
man, take him to the kitchen and look after him.
A few moments later the manservant returned
" You are far too kind, Madame," he said. *' Th
122
'\
GRfiTRY.
From the painting by Madame Le Brun (1786).
10 laCC p. 122.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
man is a wretch. Here are the papers that fell
out of his pocket.'* He handed us several copy-
books, one of which began thus : " Down with
the Royal Family ! Down with the nobles !
Down with the priests ! " Then followed a revo-
lutionary litany and a lot of dreadful predictions,
written in a way that made one's hair stand on
end. Mme Auguier sent for the Horse Patrol,
who were then policing the villages. Four of
these military arrived and were requested to take
the man away and get information about him.
They took him' away. The manservant, however,
who followed them unobserved, saw them at the
turn of the road link arm-in-arm with the prisoner,
jumping and singing with him as though they
w^ere on the best of terms. I am at a loss to
describe how greatly we were frightened by this.
What were we coming to, my God ! when the
public authority made common cause with the
guilty ?
I had advised Mme Auguier to show the copy-
books to the Queen. A few days later, being in
attendance, she gave them to the Queen to read.
Her Majesty returned them, saying : *' These
things are impossible. I will never believe they
are planning such atrocities." Alas ! events were
only too soon in removing that noble doubt. And
besides the Royal victim who refused to believe
such horrors possible, poor Mme Auguier herself
was destined to pay for her devotion with her life.
Her devotion never flinched. Knowing that
the Queen was without money during the cruel
123
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
days of the Revolution, she quickly lent her
twenty-five louis. The revolutionaries got to know
about it and came at once to the palace of the
Tuileries to take her to prison, or, rather to the
guillotine.
Seeing them arrive with their furious looks
and threatening speech, Mme Auguier preferred
a prompt death to the anguish of falling into their
hands. She threw herself out of the window and
was killed.
I have known few women so beautiful and
lovable as Mme Auguier. She was tall and
shapely. Her face was remarkably fresh-com-
plexioned, milk and rose, and her eyes revealed
her loving-kindness. She left two children, whom
I have known since their childhood at Marly,
One married the Marechal Ney, the other M. de
Broc. The latter girl came to an ill-starred end
while yet young. When travelling with Mme
Louis Bonaparte, her bosom friend, she went for
an excursion to Ancenis and wanted to cross a
deep chasm on a plank. The plank gave way
beneath her feet and the unfortunate woman
plunged to her death in the abyss.
Mme Auguier had two sisters. One was Mme
Campan, well known as the first lady-in-waiting
to the Queen and as the clever directress of the
educational establishment at Saint Germain, where
the daughters of all the notabilities of the Empire
were educated. I knew Mme Campan at Ver-
sailles at the time she enjoyed all the favour and
confidence of the Queen. I had no suspicion
124
AN AMATEUR'S STUDIO IN THE XVIIIth CENTURY
After Dugourc {Musee du Louvre).
To face p. 124.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
whatever of her ever failing to keep her devotion
and gratitude to her august mistress for so many
kindnesses received. When I was staying in St.
Petersburg, I heard her accused of having for-
saken and betrayed the Queen. Unable to dis-
cover anything but the most infamous calumny in
such an accusation, I took up the cudgels of
defence on behalf of my countrywoman and
Kxclaimed several times : '* It is impossible ! "
fTwo years later, on my return to France, I
received the following letter from Mme Campan,
copy it so that you may read her justification,
which appears to me to bear all the marks of
sincerity :
Saint Germain,
January inth {Old Style).
At a great distance from me you said, dear Madame : "It is
mpossible ! " A true mind, goodness and sensibility were the
juides of your opinion. These rare qualities, rare indeed in
:hese days, are, happily for me, to be found united in you to
alents still more rare. You understand what is impossible for
ne, as deeply as I am grateful to you for having declared it. In
ruth, how can one believe I could ever separate for a moment
ny sentiments, opinions and devotion from everything that I
wed to the unfortunate being who, day by day, gave happiness
:o me and mine, and whose retention of the rights attacked by
perfidious and bloody faction assured happiness for all and
specially for me ? I have, on the contrary, had the privilege
of giving her undoubted proofs of a gratitude such as she had
the right to expect. My poor Sister Auguier and I, though I
was not on duty, faced death in order not to leave her during
that horrible night of August loth. After that massacre we
remained hidden and frightened to death in the houses of Paris,
where we regained strength enough to get as far as the Feuillants
125
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
and to serve her again during her first detention at the Assembly.
Petion alone separated us from her, when we endeavoured to
follow her to the Temple. In face of such true and simple
facts, in which I am far from deriving any vanity, you may well
ask how it is possible for one to be so oddly calumniated. Was
it not because I had to be made to pay dearly for the constant
and signal favour shown me during so many years ? Is favour
at a Court ever forgiven, even when it is bestowed on a person
of the household ? They tried to disgrace me in the eyes of
the Queen, that is all. They did not succeed, however ; and
one day it will be known to what degree she continued to esteem
and trust me in the most important matters. I must, howeverjj
add, in order not to disguise anything that may have caused my
real sentiments to be misconstrued, that I was never able to bring
my mind to accept the emigration plan. I considered it to be
harmful to the emigrants, and according to my ideas at that time
still more harmful to Louis XVI. Living at the Tuileries, I
was constantly struck by the thought that there was only a
quarter of a league's distance from the palace to the insurgent
suburbs, and a hundred leagues from Coblence or the protecting
armies. In mind and feeling women are talkative ; far toe
often I expressed my opinion on this subject, which at that time
was the hope of everybody. My fears were inspired by a senti-
ment utterly different from the mad and criminal love of i
dreadful revolutionary. Time has justified them only too well
and the numberless victims of that project should prevent thos<
fears from being any longer imputed to me as a crime.
However, I am living at present under a different form,
am entirely devoted to it, with the peace of heart that knows no
cause for self-reproach. For some time past I have been longing
to show you the outlines of my plan of education, to receiv<
your visit and to pay you my honours as a sincere and valuabl
friend. Choose a day with interesting and unfortunate Mmi
Rousseau, and it will be like a feast day for me. Accep
my affection, esteem, gratitude and all my devoted sentiment
for you.
Genet Campan,
126
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Beside Mme Campan, Mme Auguier had another
sister, named Mme Rousseau, a very nice woman,
whom the Queen had attached to the service of
the first Dauphin. She frequently offered me
hospitality, when I had sittings at the Court.
The young Prince, whom she attended, became
50 much attached to her that two days before
his death he said to her : *' I love you so much,
Rousseau, that I shall still love you after death.'*
Mme Rousseau's husband was fencing-master
to the young Princes of France. Hence, being
doubly attached to the Royal Family, he was
unable to escape death. He was taken and guillo-
tined. I was told that after delivering judgment
:he judge had the villainy to call out to him :
' Parry that blade, Rousseau I "
In relating these horrors I am encroaching on
he time I have yet to tell you about till the day
left France. In my next letter I will resume
le story of the sad events which obliged me to
ee from my country in order to find in foreign
mds not only my safety but also the kindness
rhich you heaped upon me during my stay in
ussia, and of which I keep so sweet a memory.
127
CHAPTER XII
1789 — My terror — / take refuge at M. Brongniart — M. di
Somhreuil — Pamela — The ^th October — The Royal Family
taken from Versailles — / leave Paris — My companions in thi
coach — / cross the mountains.
THE FEARFUL YEAR 1789 had begur
and terror had already taken hold of al
far-seeing people. I remember how th
greater part of the people who came to a concer
at my house one evening came in with a distraugh
look. They had been to the morning parade
Longchamp, when the populace gathered abou
the Etoile barrier had heaped most dreadful insult
on the people who drove past in their carriage*
The wretches jumped on to the carriage steps
shouting : '* Next year it will be your turn
run behind your carriages, while we shall
inside ! " besides a thousand other more infamou
remarks. These accounts naturally saddened m
evening. I remember noticing that the leaj
alarmed was Mme de Villette, Voltaire's " 6e/i
et bonne. ^^
As for me, I had little need to hear fresh detai
in order to foresee the dreadful things that wei
in the making. I knew without a doubt th;
my house in the Rue du Gros Chenet, where
had settled but three months previously, w;
128
',moirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
irked down by the miscreants. Sulphur was
rown into our cellars through the air-holes.
I stood at my window, rude rag-tails would
ake their fists at me. Hundreds of sinister
mours reached me from all quarters. My life
IS nothing but a daily round of anxiety and
ofound grief.
My health began to weaken visibly. Two good
ends of mine, Brongniart the architect and his
fe, came to see me and found me so thin and
anged that they entreated me to go and stay a
N days with them. I gratefully accepted the
er. Brongniart had an apartment at the In-
des. I was taken there by a doctor attached
the Palais Royal, whose servants wore the
leans livery, the only one respected at the
ne. I was given the best bed. As I was unable
eat, I was fed on excellent Bordeaux wine and
kiillon. Mme Brongniart never left my side.
much care should have calmed my spirit,
ce my friends saw things in much less sombre
ours than I did. Nevertheless, it was impossible
them to remove my fear of the evils I foresaw.
that's the use of living ? What's the use of
dng care of oneself ? " I often said to my
ends, for my fear of the future disgusted me
th life. I must say, however, that notwith-
nding the depth of my imagination I did not
ess but a part of the crimes that were committed
er on.
I remember supping at Brongniart's house with
. de Sombreuil, the Governor of the Invalides
I 129
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Br
at that time. He told us that an attempt w
going to be made to get hold of the arms he hi
in store. *' But," he added, " I have hiddi
them so thoroughly that I defy them to find therr
The good man did not think that it was no long
possible to rely on anybody but oneself. As t
arms were carried off pretty soon after, he ^^
no doubt betrayed by the servants of the house
had employed.
M. de Sombreuil, whose private virtues were
admirable as his military talents, was among t
prisoners who were to be massacred in the prise
on September 2nd. The assassins spared his 1
on account of the tears and supplications of
heroic daughter. Nevertheless, they were atrocic
even in their pardon, for they forced Mile de So
breuil to drink a glass of the blood which was beJ
shed in torrents in the prison ! For a very Li
time afterwards the sight of anything red can
that unhappy girl to vomit distressingly. La
on (in 1794) M. de Sombreuil was sent to
scaffold by the revolutionary tribunal. These t
events inspired the poet Legouve with the m
beautiful line of his verses :
Des bourreaux I'ont absous, des juges I'ont frappe,
M. de Sombreuil left a son, who was remarka
for his character and courage. He commanc
one of the regiments that came from England
Quib^ron towards the end of 1795. When
National Convention violated the capitulation sigi
by General Hoche, M. de Sombreuil met
130
M^NAGEOT.
By Madame Le Brun [Musee de Versailles).
To face p. 131,
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
death like a brave man. He refused to have his
;yes bandaged, and himself gave the order to
ihoot. At the moment of execution Tallien said
:o him : " Sir, you come from a very un-
brtunate family." — " I came to avenge it," replied
VI. de Sombreuil. " But I am only able to
mitate it."
Mme Brongniart took me for a walk behind the
[nvalides. Near by were some peasants' houses.
Awhile we were sitting against one of these hovels
ve overheard the conversation of two men who
vere unaware of our presence. " If you want
o earn ten francs," said one, " come and help
IS make a row. You've only got to shout :
Down with this ! Down with the other !
md above all shout as loud as ever against
ayonne." — *' Ten francs are worth having,"
nswered the other. *' But shan't we get cud-
dled ? "— " What next ! " rejoined the first. " We
re the people who do the cudgelling." You can
magine what effect was produced on me by this
ialogue.
The following day we happened to pass in
ront of the iron railings of the Invalides, where
here was an immense crowd of those nasty people
vho had made a habit of walking up and down
mder the galleries of the Palais Royal. They
i^ere all ragged vagabonds, neither peasants nor
i^orkmen, obviously with no occupation but that
f bandits, judging from their frightful faces.
i/Ime Brongniart, who kept a stouter heart than
, tried to reassure me. But I was so frightened
131
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
that I was about to turn back home, when we
saw a horse arrive with a young woman in the
saddle, wearing a riding habit and a hat with black
plumes. The horrible gang immediately made wa)j
for the young woman, who was followed by twc
riders in the Orleans livery. I recognized a
once the beautiful Pamela, whom Mme de Genlij
had brought to my house. She was then in al
the beauty of her freshness and truly ravishing
We heard the whole horde cry out : " Here yov
are ! Here's the one we ought to have for Queen ! *
Pamela went on riding up and down in the mids
of that disgusting mob, which led me to some verj
gloomy reflections. I
Shortly after I returned to my house, but wa
unable to go on living there. Society seemed t(
me breaking up altogether, honest folk bein^
without any protection whatever, for the Gard'
Nationale was so oddly made up that it reveale(
a mixture as weird as it was frightful. Fea
showed its effects on everybody, Pregnant wome:
I saw passing made me feel quite sad ; most c
them were jaundiced with fright. In this respec
I have noticed that the generation born durin
the Revolution is much less robust than its fore
runner. How many children must have bee:
born weak and ailing in those sad days !
M. de Riviere, the Charge d'Affaires of Saxon]
whose daughter married my brother, came
offer me his hospitality. I spent two weeks
I She afterwards married Lord Fitzgerald,
still alive though much altered.
132
She is his widow now, beii
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
least in his house. It was there that I saw the
busts of the Duke of Orleans and M. Necker
carried in procession, followed by a great crowd
shouting that one would be their king and the
other their protector. The same evening these
[honest folk came back. They set fire to the
barrier at the end of our street (Rue Chauss^e
d'Antin), tore up the paving and erected barri-
cades, shouting : *' The enemy is coming ! " The
enemy never came : alas ! the enemy was in
Paris.
Though I was treated at M. de Riviere's like
pne of his children, and was able to feel safe under
bis roof, as he was a Foreign Minister, I had made
up my mind to leave France. For several years
I had been longing to go to Rome. The great
number of portraits I had undertaken to paint
was the sole cause of my delay. However, if
the moment for departure was ever to arrive, it
had certainly come at that time. I could no
onger paint. My imagination was darkened and
wilted by so many horrors, and ceased to find
satisfaction in my art. Moreover, frightful libels
were being poured out on my friends and
acquaintances, even on myself, alas ! Though I
had never harmed anyone, my thoughts were
vrery much like those of the man who said : " They
kccuse me of having taken the towers of Notre-
Dame. They are still in their place ; but I am
^oing off, for it is obvious they have a grudge
igainst me."
I left several portraits I had begun, including
133
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
that of Mme Contat. I refused also to paint
Mile de la Borde (later Duchess de Noailles),
who was brought to me by her father. She was
hardly sixteen years old and charming. But for
me there was no longer any question of success
and fortune. The only question was how to!
save one's head. Consequently, I had my carriage
loaded and had got my passport ready to leave
with my daughter and governess on the following
day, when I saw my drawing-room invaded by a
great crowd of National Guards with firearms.
Most of them were drunk, ill-dressed and horrible
looking. Some of them came up to me and
told me in the rudest language that I was not to
leave and would have to remain. I answered
that everybody was now called to enjoy freedom
and that I wished to avail myself of it on my
own account. They scarcely listened to me, and
kept repeating : " You shall not leave, citizeness,
you shall not leave." At last they went away,
was still writhing with anxiety when I saw two
others enter. They did not frighten me, however,
though they were of the same band, for I was
quick to comprehend that they did not wish me
any harm. *' Madame," said one, " we are your
neighbours. We have come to advise you to
leave as soon as possible. You could not go on
living here. You are so altered that we ft
sorry for you. But don't go in your carriage
Take the diligence. It is safer."
I thanked them with all my heart, and followe
their good advice. I sent out to have three places
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
reserved, wishing to take with me my daughter,
who was then about five or six years old. I was
unable to get the places till a fortnight later,
since all the people who were emigrating were
leaving, like me, by diligence.
At last the long-awaited day arrived. It was
the 5th of October, the same day the King
and Queen were brought from Versailles to
Paris in the midst of pikes ! My brother
witnessed the arrival of their Majesties at the
Hotel de Ville. He heard the speech of M.
Bailly, and knowing that I was to leave during
the night, he came to my house about ten
o'clock in the evening. " Never," he told me,
" was the Queen more like a Queen than she
yvas to-day, when she came looking so calm
and noble in the midst of those madmen." Then
be told me of the beautiful answer she had given
M. Bailly : "I have seen everything, known
bverything, and I have forgotten everything."
The events of that journey overwhelmed me
tvith so great an anxiety for the welfare of their
Majesties, and of all people of standing, that at
tnidnight I was dragged out to the diligence in
fm indescribable state. I was very much afraid
)f the Faubourg St. Antoine, which I had to
raverse in order to reach the Trone turnpike-
^ate. My brother, M. Robert and my husband
kccompanied me as far as that gate, without
eaving the coach door for one moment. The
Faubourg, which we feared so much, was perfecdy
peaceful. All the inhabitants, workers and others,
135
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
had been to Versailles to fetch the Royal Family,
and the fatigue of the journey kept them all asleep.
The man sitting opposite me in the diligence
was extremely dirty and stank like the pest. He
calmly related to me how he had stolen some
watches and other property. Happily he saw
nothing on me to tempt him. I was taking very
little linen with me and only eighty louis for the
journey. I had left my belongings and jewels in
Paris, while the fruit of my labours remainec
in the hands of my husband, who spent every-
thing, as I have already related.^
The thief was not satisfied with telling us about
his high deeds. He incessantly talked of hangin|
people from lamp-posts, naming a host of person;
of my acquaintance. My daughter thought the
man very wicked. He frightened her so much
that I took courage from the occasion to say tc
him : " I beg you. Sir, not to speak of murdei
before this child." He held his tongue and endec
up by playing a game of bataille with my daughter
On the same seat with me was a violent Jacobir
from Grenoble. He was about fifty years old
ugly and bilious-looking. Every time we stoppec
at an inn for dinner or supper he started spouting
his ideas in the most terrifying fashion. At al
the towns a crowd of people stopped the diligence
in order to hear the news from Paris. Ou
Jacobin would then cry out : " Be at rest, m'
• I maintained myself abroad by painting portraits. Far from sendin
me any money, M. Le Brun wrote me such pitiful letters about his distres
that I sent him a thousand ecus on one occasion and a hundred louis oi
another. I also sent the same sum to my mother later on.
136
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
children. We've got the baker and his wife in
Paris. We'll make a Constitution for them.
They'll be obliged to accept it, and that will be
the end of the story." The simpletons, whose
heads were being turned in this fashion, believed
the man like an oracle. All this made my journey
very sad. I no longer had any fear for myself ;
I was anxious about my mother, brother, friends,
everybody. I shuddered at the thought of their
Majesties' fate, for all along the route, almost as
far as Lyons, horsemen kept coming up to the
diligence to tell us that the King and Queen had
been massacred and Paris set on fire. My poor
little daughter was trembling all over, thinking she
saw her father and our house being burnt. I no
sooner succeeded in quietening her than another
horseman would dash up and repeat the same
horrible story.
At last I arrived at Lyons. I drove to the house
of M. Artaut, a merchant, whom I had sometimes
received at my house in Paris together with his
wife. I knew neither of them but slightly. They
had inspired me with confidence, since we shared
the same opinions concerning all that was hap-
pening. My first care was to ask them whether
it was true that the King and Queen had been
jnassacred. Thank Heaven, I was reassured for
pat once.
j M. and Mme Artaut had some difficulty in
i-ecognizing me at first, not only because I had
altered to such an extent, but also because I was
jvearing the costume of a badly dressed work-
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
woman with a large kerchief falling over my
eyes. I had had occasion during my journey to
congratulate myself for having taken this pre-
caution. I had just exhibited at the Salon a
portrait of myself with my daughter in my arms.
The Jacobin from Grenoble spoke about the
exhibition and even praised the portrait. I
shuddered lest he should recognize me. I used
all my cunning to hide my face from him. Thanks
to that and my costume, I came through with
nothing worse than a little fear.
I spent three days at Lyons with the Artaut
family. I gready needed the rest. Apart from
my hosts, I saw no one in the town, being anxious
to keep the strictest incognito. M. Artaut engaged
a coachman for me, telling him I was a relation
of his. He strongly commended me to this good
man, who indeed showed every possible care to
me and my daughter.
I am at a loss to tell you what I felt as I crossed
the bridge at Beauvoisin. There at last, I began
to breathe. I was outside of France, that France
which was my country notwithstanding, and which
I blamed myself for leaving with joy. The sight
of the mountains, however, distracted me from
all my thoughts. I had never seen high mountains
before. Those of Savoy seemed to me to touch
the sky, mingling with them in a dense mist.
My first feeling was one of fear, but I insensibly
grew accustomed to the sight and ended by ad-
miring them.
The landscape about the road of the Echelles
138
CALONNE, MINISTER OF STATE, CONTROLLER-GENERAL
OF FINANCE.
By Madame he Brun.
To face p. 138.
m
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
enchanted me. I fancied I was looking at the
Gallery of the Titans. I have always called it
thus ever since. Wishing to enjoy all these
beautiful scenes more thoroughly, I got out of
the carriage. About half-way along the road,
however, I was seized with a great terror. A
part of the rocks was being worked with gun-
powder, and the effect of this was like thousands
of cannon-shots. Echoing from rock to rock, the
noise was infernal.
I went up Mount Cenis at the same time as
several strangers. A postilion came up to me
and said : " Madame should take a mule, as it
is too fatiguing for a lady like you to go on foot."
[ replied that I was a workwoman quite accus-
tomed to walking. " Ah ! " he laughingly re-
oined, " Madame is no workwoman. It is known
who you are." — " Well, who am I ? " I asked. —
* You are Madame Le Brun, who paints so per-
"ectly. We are all very glad to know you are
ar away from the evil-doers." I have never been
ible to make out how this man knew my name,
t proved to me, however, what a lot of emissaries
the Jacobins must have had. Happily I was no
longer in fear of them. I was beyond their
loathsome power. Instead of my native country,
I was going to dwell in places where the arts
flourished and civilized manners prevailed. I was
going to visit Rome, Naples, Berlin, Vienna,
Petersburg, and above all, though I did not know
at the time, I was going to find you, dear friend,
know you, and love you.
139
NOTES AND PORTRAITS
The Abb^ Delille.
JAQUES DELILLE was nothing but a child
all his life, the most lovable, best and wittiest
child imaginable. He was nicknamed Chose
Legere, which has always struck me as being most
appropriate. No man, indeed, ever skimmed life
so lightly as he, making no strong attachment to
anything whatever in the world. Enjoying the
present without thinking of what was to follow,
he rarely troubled his mind with a deep thought.
It was extremely easy for anyone desirous of
gaining a hold over him to win his affections
and lead him. His marriage is sufficient proof
of that. How often he complained of the yoke
he was wearing when there was still time to
cast it off ! At last a friend persuaded him to
take his freedom and offered him a shelter.
Delille accepted the offer. Delighted and full of
resolve, he only asked for an hour in which to
go and get some belongings. Evening came and
the friend waited in vain for Delille to appear. So
he went to find him. " Well ? " he said.—" Well,"
replied Delille, " I am going to marry her, my
friend. I hope you will consent to act as witness."
Count de Choiseul-Gouffier, an intimate friend
of his, who was about to leave for Greece, had
140
W
CO
a,
<
(J
w
X
R
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
often spoken to him of his desire to take him as
a companion on the journey. Nothing, however,
was agreed upon. On the day of his departure
the Count went to the Abbe and said to him :
'* I am leaving this instant. Come with me. The
|:arriage is ready." And the Abbe got into the car-
iriage without making the least preparation, though
IVI. de Choiseul had, in fact, provided for that.
Arrived at Marseilles, Delille went for a walk
^long the shore and gazed at the sea. A deep
melancholy came over him. He said : " I shall
never be able to put that immensity between my
friends and me. No, I will not go any farther."
So he slipped secretly away from M. de Choiseul
and hid himself in a litde tavern, where he thought
himself safe from discovery. After much searching,
tiowever, he was tracked down by M. de Choiseul,
ivho took him on board with him.
Though far from his friends, he never forgot
i;hem and often sent them news of himself. He
Svrote to me from Athens several times. In one
f his letters he told me he had written my name
n the Temple of Minerva. I remembered this
hen I was at Naples, and wrote to him that
ith much more reason I had written his name
n the tomb of Virgil. I shall always regret
having lost the Abbe's letters, as well as those
t^hich I received from M. de Vaudreuil during
is travels in Spain with Count d'Artois, which
were full of interesting details on that country.
[ entrusted them to my brother when I left France,
md when the searching of houses became the
141
Memoirs of Madame Elisaheth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
order of the day, he judged it prudent to burn
the correspondence.
The Abbe Delille spent his life in high society,
where he was a very brilliant ornament. Not
only did he recite his verses in a delightful manner,
but his fine wit and natural mirth rendered his
conversation most charming. He was matchless
as a story-teller, delighting every group with
scores of tales and anecdotes with never a drop
of gall or satire. Hence it may be said that
everybody liked him, just as he may be said to
have liked everybody. The latter merit, if indeed
it is one, was due, I think, to that weakness of
his character which I have already referred to.
He knew no more how to hate than to resist,
and in the ordinary things of life his easy-going
manner was truly rare. For instance, he may
have promised to dine with you. At the moment
of setting out for your house, if another person
came to get him he would go off with him,
leaving you to wait in vain. I remember one
day reproaching him with having failed to keep
his promise in this way. He proved to us that he
had a ready answer for everything. " I take it,"
he said, " that the person who comes to fetch m(
is much more urgent than the person who waits.'
He had traits of good-nature that reminded one
very much of La Fontaine. One evening, when he
came to supper at my house, I said to him : " M
I'Abbe, it is very late. You live so far away tha
I feel uneasy at seeing you go home at this hour
driving your cabriolet." — He answered : " I alwayj
142
M
THE ABBE DELILLE.
After Miger.
To face p. 142.
w
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
take the precaution of carrying a night-cap in my
pocket." I suggested making a bed for him in
my salon. " No, no ! " he said. " I have a friend
in your street where I often go for a lodging. It
doesn't put him out in the least, and I can go
there at any time." Which he did at once.
No one enjoyed life or skimmed its charm as
much as he. Always ready to laugh and be
amused, he had a sort of happiness like that of a
child. The same man, however, displayed the
utmost energy during the whole time of the
Revolution. Everybody knows how courageously
he rebuffed Chaumette, the Attorney of the Com-
mune, who commanded him in 1793 to write
an ode to the Goddess of Reason. Delille was
quite aware that his refusal meant sentence of
death, and it was then he wrote his beautiful verses
on the immortality of the soul. He read them to
] Chaumette till he came to the following lines :
Oui, vous qui, de I'Olympe usurpant le tonnerre,
Des eternelles lois renversez les autels ;
Laches oppresseurs de la terre,
Tremblez, vous etes immortels ! ^
He stopped, looked at the Tribune, and repeated
in a strong, assured voice : " Vous aussi, tremblez
vous etes immortel." Though much taken aback,
Chaumette stammered a few threats. " I am quite
ready," replied Delille. " I have just read my
will." For this once the good man's courage led
to a happy result, for Chaumette left him in
I " Yes, you, who usurp the thunders of Olympus and overturn the altars
of the eternal laws, base oppressors of earth, tremble, you are immortal ! "
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
order to go and tell his friends that it was not
yet time to put Delille to death. After which
he never ceased to give Delille his protection.
Nevertheless the poet thought it prudent to go
abroad. He crossed to England, where he was
received and made much of by all the notabilities.
His Muse always kept his fire sacred to his
lawful sovereigns. During the reign of the world-
shaking usurper, he published his poem " La
Pitid," and on his return to France, had the
courage, perhaps still more rare, to resist the false
caresses of an absolute power. He did not fear
to lay himself open to disgrace in order to preserve
his own esteem, the esteem of his friends and
the general admiration, which he enjoyed till the
day of his death.
Count de Vaudreuil.
Born to high rank. Count de Vaudreuil owed
much more to Nature than to his position, though
the latter overwhelmed him with all its gifts. To
the advantages of a high position in the world,
he united all the qualities that make a man
agreeable. He was big, well-made and carried
himself with remarkable elegance and nobility.
His look was gentle and fine, his features extremely
mobile like his ideas, while his smile was pre-
possessing from the start. He had plenty of wit
but one was tempted to believe that he did no
open his mouth except to get the best out o:
yours, for he listened to you in so friendly anc
courteous a manner. Whether the conversatior
144
emoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
IS serious or joking, he knew how to adopt any
ne, any nuance, for he was as well-informed as
was gay. He was an excellent story-teller,
d I know verses by him which might be quoted
th honour by the most hard to please. These
rses, however, were never read except by his
ends. He was all the less anxious to have
m published because he employed in several
spirit and form of the epigram. In order to
this, his pure and noble soul must have been
rred to revolt by a bad deed, and one may
y say that if he showed small pity for what
s evil, he gloried mightily in all that was good.
)body outdid him in warmth of service to
)se who enjoyed his esteem. If his friends were
icked, he defended them with so much energy
t cold folk accused him of exaggeration. " You
st judge me in that way," he said to an egotist
3ur acquaintance, " for I respond to everything
>d, while you respond to nothing."
The society he preferred was that of artists and
foremost men of letters. He had many friends
bng them, whom he always kept, even though
ir political opinions were not the same as his.
Je was passionately fond of all the arts, while
\ knowledge of painting was remarkable. As
fortune allowed him to satisfy very expensive
is, he collected a gallery of masterpieces of
l|ous schools. His salon was adorned with
lable furniture and ornaments of excellent
He frequendy gave magnificent parties,
were so fairylike that he was called the
K 145
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he 5;
magician. His greatest joy, however, was to bri
relief to the unfortunate. Hence the great numl
of thankless people he made !
The only contradiction to be found in t
wholesome and upright spirit was that M.
Vaudreuil very often complained of living at
Court, whereas it was obvious to all his friei
that he would not have been able to live elsewhc
Nevertheless I think I can explain the cause
this oddness. The fine quality of his soul mj
him a child of Nature, which he loved and coi
enjoy but too rarely. His rank kept him i
often away from the society to which he gravita'
by reason of his solid understanding and affect
for the arts. On the other hand, he was
doubt pleased to occupy so distinguished a posit
at the Court, which he owed to the personal me
of his sincere and loyal character. Moreover,!
adored his Prince, the Count d'Artois, whom!
never flattered and never forsook in his rr
fortune. Such a friendship rarely grows
between two men, when one is born near
the Throne. Their friendship, indeed, was muti
In 1 8 14, M. de Vaudreuil happened to fall i
a dispute with the Count d'Artois, and on
account he wrote him a long letter saying 1:
cruel it seemed to him to disagree after thi
years of friendship. The Prince answered
in two lines : " Hold your tongue, old fool,
have lost your memory, for it is forty years
I have been your best friend."
During the emigration, at an advanced age,
146
vLemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
named a young and pretty cousin of his in
ingland. He had two sons and was as good a
msband as father. Years of misfortune, including
he loss of his fortune, which was not restored to
im by the Restoration, never succeeded in crush-
ig him. He kept the same heart and spirit till
is last breath.
At the Restoration he was appointed Governor
f the Louvre. So it will be noted that he
nded his days near the place enclosing the
lasterpieces he had so much admired during his
fe. His gentle soul felt the need of lifting its
Sections above this earth, and accordingly he
ecame very devout, though without any sancti-
loniousness. These sentiments assuaged his end,
id he died surrounded by his friends, in the
ims of his beloved Prince, who never left him.
[The following verses addressed to M. de Vau-
[euil by the poet Lebrun justify what I have
d;
I
A M. Le Comte De Vaudreuil.
Jne Grace, une Muse, en effet, m'a remis
es jolis vers dictes par le dieu du Parnasse
Au plus celeste des amis,
Mecene — Vaudreuil, qui chante comme Horace,
Lh quoi ! I'ennui des courts n'a done rien qui vous
^uoi ! votre luth brilliant n'est jamais detendu ?
l^ous puisez dans votre ame un art divin de plaire,
t vous joignez toujours le bien dire au bien faire.
BLorace avec plaisir chez vous s'etait perdu ;
/ous en avez si bien I'esprit et le langage,
Que par un charmant badinage
Vous me I'avez deux fois rendu.
H7
glace ?
I"!
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Br\
Countess de Sabran
(Afterwards Marquise de Boufflers),
I made her acquaintance a few years befo
the Revolution. She was then very good-lookin
her blue eyes expressing her refinement and goo(
ness. She was fond of the arts and literatur
wrote very fine verses, and was a wonderful stor"
teller. All this without showing the least pr
tentiousness. Her naive and merry spirit had i
attractive simplicity which led to her being mu(
loved and courted, though she made no attem
to pride herself on her numerous successes :
society. As for the qualities of her heart, it
enough to say that her great affection for h
son did not prevent her from having many friend
to whom she always remained devoted and faithfi
Mme de Sabran was one of the women I sa
most, visited and received at my house with t
utmost pleasure. In her company one was nev
bored. I was therefore delighted to find her
Prussia during the emigration. She was thi
staying at Reinsberg in the house of Prince Henr
as was also the Chevalier de Boufflers, whom s'
afterwards married. In the last years of her li:
when she returned to France she became blir
Her son never left her side. His arm was, so '
speak, attached to that of his mother. His ta
was truly enviable, for in spite of her ailmer
and age, Mme de Boufflers was always good ai
kind and kept the charm that pleases and attrac
everybody. I remember how, towards the end
148
THE COMTESSE DE SABRAN.
By Madame Le Brun.
To face p. 149.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
per life, after being operated on for cataract by
Forlense, the famous oculist, she was obliged to
live in darkness. When I went to see her one
Evening, I found her all alone in the dark. I
fhought I would only stay for a moment, but
:he ever-reviving charm of her witty conversation,
;o full of anecdotes related as none but she was
ible, kept me more than three hours by her side.
Jstening to her, I thought that, seeing nothing
ind receiving no stimulus from outside objects,
^he was reading within herself, if I may say so,
and that sort of magic lantern of things and ideas
which she described to me with so much beauty
held me to the spot. I left her with regret, for
had never found her more lovable.
Mme de Boufflers left two children. Her son,
ount de Sabran, is well known not only for
lis subde wit but also on account of the charming
ables he recites so perfecdy. Her daughter, Mme
ie Custine, was known to me in the days of her
j^outh, when she was like Spring itself. She was
passionately fond of paindng and copied the great
nasters to perfection. So well did she imitate
heir colouring and vigour that, on going into
ler study one day, I mistook her copy for the
original. She did not hide from me the pleasure
he derived from my mistake, for she was just as
latural as she was nice and beautiful.
The Poet Lebrun.
I do not believe I admired any living poet so
nuch as Lebrun, who had assumed the name of
149
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise VigSe-Le Brui
Pindare. The lofty character of his poetry fiUec
me with so great an enthusiasm that I conceivec
a real friendship for the poet. Though his conceii
was amazing, I found him so natural that it nevei
crossed my mind for a moment to find anything
ridiculous in it. Thus, when Lebrun finished the
ode entitled Exegi Monumentum, he read it out tc
us. It included the following verses :
Comme un cedre aux vastes ombrages
Mon nom, croissant avec les Sges,
Regne sur la posterite.
Siecles, vous etes ma conquete ;
Et la palme, qui ceint ma tete
Rayonne d'immortalite.^
Nobody, however, found anything to say abou
it except : " Wonderful ! How true ! "
Lebrun frequently came to my house. I neve
arranged a little gathering without inviting hin
among the first. My admiration for his talen
made me so fond of him that I could not suffe
to hear any evil about him. Once I was enter
taining some people to dinner, when I heard h
morals being attacked in the gravest fashion.
Among other things, it was said that he hac
sold his wife to the Prince de Conti. Naturall
I refused to believe a word of the story. I wa
furious. *' Haven't I also been slandered ? "
said in my anger. " Look at all the absurd thino
that are said about me concerning M. de Calonne
What you say is not a bit more true, I am sure.
^ " Like a cedar with a vast shade, my name, growing with the ages, reigr
over posterity. Ages, I am your conqueror ; and the palm that wreathe
my brow, beams with immortality."
150
y
PONCE-ECHOUARD, THE POET.
After Beauminil.
To face p. 151.
{
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
However, finding I was unable to convince his
accusers, I got up and left the table to shed tears
in my bedroom. Doyen arrived and found me
weeping. '' Ho ! what is the matter, my child ? "
he asked. — " I couldn't put up with those men,"
I replied. " They are calumniating Lebrun in a
(horrible way." I told him what had been said.
(He smiled. " I don't assume that it is all true,"
jhe said. " But you are too young, my dear
ifriend, to realize that most geniuses have every-
thing at their country house and nothing at their
town house ; in other words, everything in the
lead and nothing in the heart."
Later on I often recalled this saying of Doyen's.
When I made Lebrun's acquaintance, he was
very poor and always miserably dressed. M. de
V^audreuil was not long in appreciating his fine
alent, and secretly sent him a large coffer filled
vith clothes and linen. I do not know whether
he poet discovered the author of this anonymous
2;ift. But it is a fact that when the Revolution
ame he did not vociferate against M, de Vaudreuil
much as he did against many others. It is
rue that M. de Vaudreuil neglected no occasion
o make him known and to spread his reputation.
ebrun had not yet had anything printed when
he Count was delighted with the ode on Courtisans
nd spoke about it to the Queen, who expressed
desire to hear it. M. de Vaudreuil made haste
get the ode and read it to Her Majesty. When
le had finished, the Queen said to him : " Do
ou know that he is taking away our wrapping ? "
IS
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brui
M. de Vaudreuil told me of this true remark
It struck me much more than it struck him, fo:
he refused to see in the poem anything bu
poetized philosophy, whereas Lebrun and his lik(
were preaching with a view to the future. Th(
proof of this is found in the Revolution wher
Pindare became atrocious. His strophes on th(
death of the King and Queen are infernal. T(
the shame of his memory, I would like to hav<
them printed opposite the quatrain he composec
on the day the King granted him a pension, anc
which ended thus :
Larmes qui n'avait pu m'arracher le malheur,
Coulez pour la reconnaissance.^
Far from that, however, kind M. Despres ha
suppressed all the horrors in the new collectior
of Lebrun's poems, hoping, no doubt, to confin<
them to oblivion for ever. For my part, I prefei
that justice should be done whatever the man'i
talent may have been.
When I returned to France, Lebrun was stil
alive. Neither of us, however, had any desire t(
see each other again.
Chamfort.
Of all the men of letters who came to my hous
there was one I always detested, as if by inspiratioi
of the future. That was Chamfort. I receivec
him, nevertheless, very often, out of deferenc'
for several of my friends, especially M. de Vaudreuil
* " Tears, which misfortune could not draw from me, flow with gratitude.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
whose heart he had gained in his misery. His
conversation was very witty, though tart, full of
gall, and without any charm for me. Moreover,
I greatly disliked his synicism and dirtiness. His
real name was Nicolas. He changed it, however,
on the advice of M. de Vaudreuil, who wished to
push him forward in the world and, if possible,
even at Court. M. de Vaudreuil accommodated
him in great style at his house and, being almost
always absent at Versailles, had a table served
for Chamfort and the people he cared to invite.
He treated the man like a brother. Yet this
man, on being reproached later on by his friends,
the revolutionaries, with having lived in the house
of 2, jormer nobleman^ cowardly answered : " What
does it matter ? I was Plato at the Court of the
tyrant Denys." Now, I ask what sort of tyrant
was M. de Vaudreuil ! And what sort of Plato
was Chamfort !
His intimate connections with Mirabeau, and,
above all, his envy of the great, which had long
been gnawing at his heart, were not slow to make
Chamfort a demoniacal partisan of the Revolution.
Forgetting, or rather recalling, that he had been
secretary of the establishments of the Prince de
Cond^ and the Princess Elisabeth, both of whom
had overwhelmed him with favours, he revealed
himself as one of the most ardent enemies of the
throne and nobility. In spite of the proverb
that wolves do not devour one another, Chamfort
was put into prison by the very people he had
served so well with his voice and pen, and after
153
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
being arrested a second time he cut his throat
with a razor.
The Marquise de Grollier.
Mme de Grollier, though not very fond of
society, was well known in high life, which she
adorned with her superior mind. Her education
was far beyond what was usually given to women.
She knew Latin and Greek and was thoroughly
conversant with the classic masters ; but in a
salon she concealed her learning and showed only
her wit. A middling person is apt to show off
any slight instruction. Mme de Grollier, how-
ever, was always simple and natural, manifesting
no pretence or pedantry.
In the early days of my marriage, I went about
in the world very little, preferring the small
gatherings of the Marquise de Grollier to crowded
assemblies. I often passed the whole evening
with her alone, much to my satisfaction. Her
conversation was always lively and full of ideas
and sallies. Nevertheless, there was never a word
of evil-speaking in all the witty sayings that
constantly poured from her lips. This is all the
more remarkable because this very superior woman
owed her perfect knowledge of the world to her
tact and subde mind, and also because she was
somewhat misanthropic. This was often proved to
me by the things she said.
For instance, she had a dog which became the
joy of her life when she grew blind and deaf. I,
too, had a dog of which I was very fond. One
154
MADAME MOLE-REYMOND.
By Madame Le Brun.
To face p. 154.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
day when we were talking about the devotion
and fidelity of our two little animals, I said : "I
wish dogs could speak. They would tell us such
lovely things ! " — " My dear," she replied, *' if
they could speak, they would hear, and that
would soon spoil them."
Mme de Grollier painted flowers with great
superiority. Far from being what is called the
talent of an amateur, her talent was such that
many of her pictures could be placed beside those
of Van Spaendonck, whose pupil she was. She
was a wonderful talker on painting, as she was on
all subjects, for I never left her salon without
having learnt something interesting or instructive.
I never left her without regret, and I had grown
so accustomed to visiting her that my coachman
drove me there without my saying a word to
him, which she often pointed out to me in a very
pleasant way.
Just as pictures require shades, so several persons
have reproached Mme de Grollier with exaggera-
tion in her sentiments and opinions. Certainly,
she was rather high-flown in everything. But
the result was so much greatness of heart and
nobility of soul that she owed to her temperament
many true friends, who remained faithful to her till
her last day. Moreover, no one had so much charm
of manner as Mme de Grollier, or the perfect tone
which is unknown nowadays and seems to have
died with her. For she is dead, alas ! and that
thought is one of the saddest of my life. She died
in full possession of the lofty faculties of her mind.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
I was told that shortly before she expired she
sat up and raising her eyes to heaven, her white
hair dishevelled, she breathed a prayer to God
that brought tears to the eyes of all who heard
her, at the same time filling them with admiration.
She prayed for herself, her country, and for the
Restoration which she believed should bring hap-
piness to France. She spoke a long while, as did
Homer and Bossuet, and then breathed her last.
Madame de Genlis.
I made the acquaintance of Mme de Genlis
before the Revolution. She came to see me,
presented me to the young Princes of Orleans,
whom she was educating, and a little later brought
me Pamela, whom I thought as beautiful as it is
possible to be. Mme de Genlis was very proud
of that young person, and endeavoured to bring
out all her charms. I remember she used to
make her strike various attitudes, raise her eyes
to heaven, give various expressions to her beautiful
face. Though all this was very nice to look at,
I thought that so deep a study of coquetry
might be too much of a good thing for the pupil.
Mme de Genlis' conversation always seemed to
me better than her literary works, though some
of them are charming, especially Mademoiselle de
Clermont^ which I consider to be her masterpiece.
Her conversation, however, had a certain sprightli-
ness and on several points a certain frankness that
is absent in her works.
She was a delightful story-teller and had a
.56
MADAME SAINT-HUBERT.
By Le Maine.
To face p. 156.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
great store of tales ; I think nobody at Court or
in town had seen so many people and things as
she had done. There was a charm in her simplest
remarks that can hardly be described. Her expres-
sions were so attractive and her choice of words
so tasteful that one felt inclined to write down all
she said.
On my return from my travels she came to
see me one morning. As she had forewarned
me of her visit, I informed several of my acquaint-
ances, some of whom did not like Mme de Genlis
at all. She had scarcely started to converse, when
friends and foes alike were delighted, and listened,
as though enchanted, to her brilliant conversation
for more than half an hour.
Mme de Genlis could never have been exactly
good-looking. She was tall and well-made, and
had well-defined features with a very fine look
and smile. I think it would have been difficult for
her face to express good-nature ; but it assumed
every other expression with an amazing mobility.
Madame de Verdun.
Though not a celebrity like the woman I have
just spoken of, Mme de Verdun may be remem-
bered for her very fine and natural disposition.
Her good nature and mirth made her a general
favourite, and I may regard it as one of the joys
of my life that she should have been my first,
and still remains my best, friend. Her husband
was Fermier-General. He was outwardly a cold
man, but full of wit and good nature, and was
^S7
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
unable to see unfortunate people without hastening
to help them. He owned the Chateau de Colombes
near Paris.
This chateau was inhabited once upon a time
by Queen Henrietta of England. The walls of
the salons and galleries were almost all painted
by Simon Vouet. The damp, however, had tar-
nished his remarkable paintings, and M. de Verdun,
who was a great art-lover and connoisseur, under-
took to renovate them with complete success.
I very often went to stay at the chateau for
several days. M. and Mme de Verdun used to
entertain the most agreeable society, composed of
artists, men of letters and people of wit. Car-
montelle, who was an intimate friend of our hosts,
was a great resource. He made us act his proverbs.
Moreover, the conversation in general was so
lively that we were never overtaken by boredom.
It would be useless nowadays to try to find the
delight that came from the charming conversation
of those days.
The Abbe Delille wrote to me at Rome :
** Politics has ruined everything ; no one con-
verses any more in Paris." On my return to
France I realized the truth of these words only
too well. Go into any salon you like, you will
find there the women yawning in a circle and
the men up in a corner quarrelling over some
law or other. We have seen the last, among a
good many other things, of what used to be called
conversation ; that is to say, one of the greatest
charms of French society.
158
HUBERT ROBERT.
After the painting by Madame he Brim,
To face p. 158.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
The Revolution put an end to all the pleasures
of Colombes. As M. de Verdun was known to
be very rich, it was not long before he was put
into prison. One can imagine the despair of his
doring wife. It must be said for the honour of
mankind, that as soon as the news of his arrest
reached Colombes the peasants assembled and
went to Paris to beg with tears in their eyes for
the release of their benefactor.
The result of this action was to prevent the
authorities from daring to put him to death. Never-
theless he was still a prisoner, when the good folk
came a second time and renewed their request with
so much earnest that they secured his release at last.
When Mme de Verdun heard the news, she was so
overjoyed that she lost her head and sent two
carriages to fetch her husband from prison, thinking
that two would get there quicker than one.
Robert.
Robert, the landscape painter, excelled in paint-
ing ruins. His pictures in this genre are fit to
be placed next to those of Jean Paul Panini. It
was very fashionable and grand to have one's
salon painted by Robert. Hence the number of
pictures by him is amazing. Certainly, they are
far from being all of the same degree of beauty.
Robert possessed that happy facility which may
be called fatal. He painted a picture as fast as
he wrote a letter. But when he controlled his
facility, his works were often perfect. Some of
his pictures go very well beside those of Vernet.
159
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Of all the artists I knew, Robert went about
most in society, where, moreover, he was very
much liked.
Fond of all the pleasures, not excepting that of
eating, he was much in demand. I do not believe
he dined at home more than three times a year.
Plays, balls, dinners, concerts, country parties or
any other pleasure, were never refused by him,
for he spent in amusement all the time he was
not working.
He was natural, well-educated and free from
pedantry, while the inexhaustible brightness of
his disposition made him one of the pleasantest
men in society. He was always famous for his
skill in physical exercises, and at an advanced
age still retained the preferences of his youth.
At the age of sixty and more, though very fat, he
remained so agile that he ran better than anyone
else in a game of hide-and-seek. He played
tennis and ball, and made us weep with laughter
at the schoolboy tricks he performed to amuse
us. For instance, at Colombes he once chalked
a long line on the drawing-room floor and dressed
like a mountebank, with a balancing pole in his
hands, walked solemnly or ran up and down the
line, imitating so well the attitudes and gestures
of a tight-rope dancer that the illusion was perfect.
Nothing so funny was ever seen. While studying
at the Academy of Rome he could not have
been more than twenty years old when he wagered
six pads of grey paper with his fellows that he
would climb alone to the top of the Coliseum.
i6o
mioirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
le venturesome youth reached the ridge indeed,
Dugh risking his life a score of times. When
attempted to descend, however, he was unable
use the jutting stones which had helped him
his ascent. It was found necessary to throw
rope to him from a window. He caught hold
t, bound it round his body, and sprang into
,ce. Happily, his rescuers succeeded in getting
into the interior of the monument. The
re account of this stunt makes one's hair stand
end. Robert is the only man who has ever
ed attempt it. And just for six pads of grey
)er !
t was also he who got lost in the catacombs
Rome, and who was celebrated by the Abbe
ille in his poem " L'Imagination." Mme de
pllier, like ourselves, was aware of the adven-
b in the catacombs, and after hearing the
fees of the Abbe Delille, said : *' The Abbe
lille has given me more pleasure, but Robert
€ me more fright."
he happiness which accompanied Robert
)ughout his whole life seems to have been
ii him even at his death. The good, merry
t did not foresee his end nor suffer the
uish of an agony. He was feeling very well
dressed ready to go out to dine. Mme Robert
just finished dressing, when she went to her
band's atelier to tell him she was ready, and
overed him dead, having had a lightning
Dlectic stroke.
i6i
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bt
The Duchess de Polignac.
There is no slander, no horror which has r
been invented by hate and envy against l
Duchess de Polignac. So many libels have be
written to damn her, that, together with t
vociferations of the revolutionaries, they mi
have left in the minds of some credulous peoj
the idea that the friend of Marie-Antoinette v
a monster. I knew that monster : she was t
finest, sweetest and loveliest woman one coi
wish to see.
A few years before the Revolution, the Duch
de Polignac came to see me. I painted her portr
several times as well as that of her daughter, t
Duchess de Guiche. Mme de Polignac lool^
so young that she might have been taken
her daughter's sister. Both were the best-looki
women of the Court. Mme de Guiche woi
have made a perfect model for one of the Grac
As for her mother, I will not attempt to descr
her appearance. It was heavenly.
The Duchess de Polignac had besides her i
lightful beauty an angelic sweetness and a m
attractive, solid sense. All who were intimat
acquainted with her have no difficulty in realiz
why the Queen chose her for a friend, for she \
indeed the Queen's friend. To this fact she ovs
her position as governess to the royal childr
Her appointment immediately drew upon her
ceaseless rage of all the women who coveted
post. Hundreds of atrocious calumnies were fi:
162
CAILLOT THE ACTOR.
By Voiriot.
To face p. 163.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
I
)fF against her. I often heard people of the
Z!ourt talking against her, and I confess that I
^^as revolted by such dark and persistent wickedness.
What no courtier could believe, though it was
e pure truth, was that Mme de Polignac had
^ot coveted the post she occupied. It is possible
ker family were very glad to see her advanced to
Jie dignity, but she herself had only yielded out
\i respect for the Queen's desire and at the constant
in treaties of the King. All that she longed to
lave was her liberty. In fact, life at Court was
[uite unsuited to her. Being indolent and lazy,
le would have found delight in rest, whereas
he duties of her post seemed to her like a heavy
)urden. Once when I was painting her profile
t Versailles, hardly five minutes went by without
ur door being opened and people inquiring
Dout her orders and scores of things concerning
be children. " Well ! " she said to me at last,
i^ith a look of utter boredom, " every morning
is the same questions. I never have a moment
D myself till dinner-time, while other fatigues
wait me in the evening."
At the Chateau de la Muette, where she spent
le summer, she was able to enjoy a little more
reedom. The royal children were very happy
lere, and she used to give small informal balls,
hich were very amusing. It was there that she
ave birth to Count Melchior de Polignac, at
le same time her daughter gave birth to the
resent Duke de Guiche.
Shortly before the Revolution she begged the
163
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brm
King to accept her resignation, which he refusec
to do. Being obliged, however, to take care oj
her health, she obtained permission to take th<
baths at a famous watering-place in England
She set out with the firm intention of giving uj
her post on her return ; but I know for certair
that the King, fearing lest her resignation mighl
grieve the Queen, went down on his knees tc
beg her to remain the governess of the royal
children. It is easy to realize how the manifesta-
tion of favour so dazzling and abiding arousec
the fury of the envious. Hatred of the favourite
grew yet stronger. It vastly helped the approach-
ing Revolution, which was soon to strike bott
the Polignacs and their enemies.
The Prince de Ligne.
I made the acquaintance of the Prince de Lign<
at Brussels. When he came to France shortb
before the Revolution, we renewed our acquaintanc<
with so much pleasure that he spent a good numbe
of his evenings at my house. When he, the Abb'
Delille, the Marquis de Chastellux, Count d^
Vaudreuil, Vicomte de Segur, and several other
of those days, were gathered together round m^
fire, the conversation was so lively and interesting
that we found it very hard to break up the party
Mme de Stael referred to the Prince de Ligne ii
the following manner : " He is perhaps the on!
foreigner who ever became a model of the Frend
manner instead of being an imitator ! " Elsewher
she said : " The Prince de Ligne saw men, thing
164
THE PRINCE DE LIGNE.
After A. Bartsch (1789).
To face p; 165.
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
and events pass before his eyes. He judged them
without trying to impose upon them the tyranny of a
system. He knew how to put sense into everything !"
The sense of which Mme de Stael was so good
a judge, having so much herself, was one of the
chief charms of the Prince de Ligne. His brilliant
imagination, subtle comments on all subjects, and
witty remarks, which were constantly running all
over Europe, were never able to rouse in the
^rince de Ligne any desire to be listened to. His
speech and manners remained so unaffected that
a fool might have taken him for an ordinary man.
He was tall and had a very noble bearing,
without staidness or affectation. The charm of
his mind was so well expressed in his face that I
have known few men whose first appearance was
BO prepossessing, while his good nature soon cap-
tured your affection. He was both a brave and
earned soldier. His profound knowledge of war-
are has been appreciated throughout Europe,
i^vhile the love of glory had always held its sway
Dver him. On the other hand, his indifference to
noney was excessive. Not only did his extreme
generosity involve him in enormous expenses,
A^hich he always refused to reckon up, but when
saw him again in Vienna in 1792 he came to
he house of Mme de Rombech one evening in
^rder to tell us that the French had taken possession
)f all his property in Flanders, and he seemed to
ake the news very little to heart. *' I have only
wo louis left," he added with a detached look.
' Who is going to pay my debts ? "
165
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
The only loss that affected him deeply was
that of his son Charles. This brave young man
died gloriously at the battle of Boux, in Champagne.
The blow which struck him, struck the Prince de
Ligne as well. It deprived him for ever of his
gaiety and all pleasure in life.
Everybody knows the Memoirs and Letters oj
the Prince de Ligne, whose style — le style parle^
as Mme de Stael calls it — has a charm of its own.
The letters I prefer are those he addressed to the
Marquise de Coicelles during his travels in th(
Crimea with the Empress Catherine, of which h(
often talked to us. The letters bring him to life
again to me, especially the letter he wrote fron:
Parthenizza. It is so full of witty and philo-
sophical ideas, and reveals the mind and soul o:
the Prince so well, that it appears to me like J
moral prism. I have read the letter a dozer
times, and I hope to read it again.
Countess d'Houdetot.
I made the acquaintance of Countess d'Houdeto
long before the Revolution. She was then the
centre of all the celebrated wits and artists of
Paris. As I desired very much to see her, my
friend, Mme de Verdun, who was intimately
acquainted with her, took me to Sannois, where
Mme d'Houdetot had a house, and got me invited
for the day. I knew she was not good-looking,
but remembering the passion with which she had
inspired J. J. Rousseau, I expected at least tc
find she had a pleasant face. I was so very muct
i66
MADAME DUGAZON.
To face p. 167
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
disappointed at finding her so ugly that her
romance vanished from my imagination on the
spot. She was so boss-eyed that when she spoke
to you it was impossible to make out whether her
words were meant for you. At dinner I thought
every time she offered me a dish that she was
offering it to somebody else, so equivocal was her
gaze. It must be said, however, that her sweet
nature made one forget her ugliness. She was
kind and indulgent, and rightly beloved of all
those who knew her. As I always considered
her worthy to inspire the tenderest sentiments, I
came to believe after all that she was able to inspire
a man with love.
The Mar^chal de Biron. The Marjechal de
Brissac.
The face, figure and appearance of these two
old bulwarks of the French monarchy have re-
mained so well impressed on my mind that I
should be quite capable of painting them from
memory at the present day.
Having heard about the fine garden attached
to the Biron mansion, which was said to be full
of the rarest flowers, I sent a request to the Marechal
for permission to visit it. This I received, and
accordingly I went there with my brother one
morning. In spite of his great age (eighty-four,
I believe) and his infirmities, the Marechal Biron
came out to meet me, though he walked with
difficulty. He came down the steps of his broad
terrace in order to give me his hand when I
167
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
alighted from my carriage, and then excused
himself for not being able to show me round his
garden. After my walk round the garden I
returned to the salon, where he kept me a long
while. He talked with elegance and ease, referring
to old times in a way that interested me immensely.
When I went back to my carriage, he insisted on
giving me his arm as far as the bottom of the
terrace steps, and with bare head and body erect
waited until he had seen me leave before entering
the house. This gallantry in a man past eighty
seemed to me most charming.
He died in 1788. He was spared the pain of
witnessing the defection of the Gardes Frangaises.
He had tightened up the discipline in that body
so rigorously that his successor, the Duke du
Chatelet, slackened it beyond measure just before
the Revolution arrived.
Regarding the Mar^chal de Brissac, I only saw
him at the Tuileries, where he was fond of walking
about. He looked very old, but held himself
very upright and walked like a young man. His
costume attracted attention, for he always wore
his hair in plaits, which formed two pigtails at
the back of the head, while his coat was long
and flowing with a girdle below the waist and
gold-edged stockings rolled about his knees. This
ancient costume did not make him at all
grotesque. He looked extremely noble, and seemed
like a courtier coming out of the halls of
Louis XIV.
168
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
M. DE Talleyrand.
One morning Chamfort brought to my house
M. de Talleyrand, who was then Abbot of Peri-
jord. His features were gentle, his cheeks very
ound. Though lame, he was none the less
legant, and said to be well-off. He said very
Lttle to me beyond a few remarks on my pictures.
had my reasons then for believing that he merely
vished to find out whether I lived in the midst
)f as much luxury and grandeur as I was said to
lo, and that Chamfort brought him in order to
)rove the contrary. My bedroom, which was
he only room in which I could receive him,
^^as furnished in the simplest manner, as M. de
Talleyrand and many other persons may remember
t the present day.
I don't think he ever came to my house again,
>ut I saw him a while at Gennevilliers, when he
ame to dine with Count de Vaudreuil. I also
^w him later, on my return to France. He was
hen married to Mme Grant, a very good-looking
Voman whose portrait I had painted before the
devolution. A rather amusing story is told about
ler : M. de Talleyrand, having invited Denon
o dinner on his return from accompanying Bona-
larte in Egypt, urged his wife to read a few
»ages of the celebrated traveller's history, so that
he might be able to say something pleasant to
am. He added that she would find the volume
n his writing-table. Mme de Talleyrand obeyed,
ut made a mistake and read a fairly large part
169
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
of the adventures of Robinson Crusoe. At table
she put on her most charming look and said to
Denon : " Ah ! Monsieur, I have just read your
book with the utmost delight ! How interesting
it is, especially when you describe how you met
that poor Friday ! " Heaven knows what Denon
looked like at these words, and above all M. de
Talleyrand ! This litde story went all round
Europe. Perhaps it is not true. It is certain, how-
ever, that Mme de Talleyrand had a very poor wit.
In this respect her husband had enough for two.
Doctor Franklin.
I first saw Doctor Franklin when I was painting
the portrait of Monsieur, afterwards Louis XVII L
He had come with the other ambassadors to makt
his visit to the Court. I was struck by his extreme
simplicity. He wore a plain grey coat and flat
unpowdered hair reaching to his shoulders. Bui
for his noble face, I should have taken him foi
a big farmer, so great was his contrast with th(
other diplomats, who were all powdered, in ful
dress, and splashed all over with gold and ribbons
No man in Paris was more lionized thai
Franklin. Crowds ran after him in the prom-
enades and public places. Hats, sticks, snuff-
boxes, everything was named after him, and i
was considered a great honour to be invited to
dinner at which that celebrated personage wa
present. I may say, however, that meeting him
even very frequently, was not enough to satisfy
the curiosity he aroused. I often saw him at th^
170
FRANKLIN.
By Hoiidon (Muse'e de F'ersailles).
To face p. 170. t
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
louse of Mme Brion, who lived at Passy. Franklin
pent all his evenings there. Mme Brion and her
wo daughters provided music which he seemed
o listen to with pleasure, but during the intervals,
never once heard him speak so much as a word,
,nd I was tempted to believe that he was vowed
o silence.
The Prince of Nassau.
I was still unmarried when the young Prince
f Nassau was presented to me by the Abbe
jiroux. He asked me to paint his portrait, which
'. made full length, of a small size, in oils. The
Mnce of Nassau, called "the Invulnerable" by
he Prince de Ligne, had already gained a repu-
ation for his dazzling deeds of heroism that
eemed almost fabulous. His whole life was a
eries of surprising adventures. He was hardly
wenty when he went with Bougainville on a
ourney round the world, and penetrated into the
leserts, where his daring earned for him the name
>f the Monster-tamer. Since then he has fought
victoriously on land and sea against all the nations
)f the world. Always at it, warring or otherwise,
le has been all over the world from one end to
he other. Hence it was said that his letters
;hould be addressed to him on the great roads.
There was nothing in the face and appearance
>f the Prince of Nassau to indicate the hero of
o many adventures. He was tall and well-made,
^^hile his features were regular and fresh-com-
Dlexioned. But the extreme gentleness and
171
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brm
habitual repose of his looks gave no hint of th
great deeds and intrepid valour which marke(
him out among all others. I met him again a
Vienna during the emigration. I had taken mi
daughter, who was then about nine years old, t<
the house of Casanova. The latter had pain tec
several pictures of the Prince de Nassau in th<
act of felling lions and tigers. Shortly after, w<
were visiting the Princess de Lorraine one evening
when the Prince de Nassau was announced. Ex-
pecting to see a ferocious individual, my daughtc]
whispered to me : " Oh ! is that the man J
heard so much about ? He looks as gentle and
shy as a girl just out of the convent."
M. DE La Fayette.
Shortly before the Revolution, I was paid J
visit by M. de La Fayette. He merely came tc
see the portrait I was painting of pretty Mme dc
Simiane, whom he was said to be looking after,
I never met him again. We should find it rathei
hard to recognize each other, for I was young at
the time of his visit, as he was too, though it was
after his journey to America. He seemed tc
have a pleasant face. His tone and manner were
very well bred and gave no sign whatever of his
revolutionary inclinations.
Madame de La Reyniere.
After my marriage I sometimes went to suppei
with Mme de La Reyniere and to the evening
parties she used to give in the house which her
172
CAILLOT, THE ACTOR, AS TOM JONES.
To face p. 172.
iemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
usband built in the Rue des Champs Elysees,
here the best society in Paris met.
Mme de La Reyniere's maiden name was Jarente.
ier family were noble and very poor, and had
nade her marry M. (Grimod) de La Reyniere,
ne of our wealthiest financiers. Everything about
:er showed the disgust she felt in having to be
ailed by a bourgeois name. She was good-
Doking, very tall and very thin. Her noble
nd haughty air was remarkable. She established
erself as reigning mistress of the house, where
he always received her guests with the grandest
lignity, in order to let no one forget who she
i^as born. When Doyen the painter was asked
ne day after dining at her house what he thought
f Mme de La Reyniere, he replied : " She
eceives very well, but I believe she is suffering
rom nobility."
Her husband was a good fellow in every sense
f the word, easy to get along with, and never
peaking evil of anybody. Nevertheless he was
urned into ridicule, or rather he was made fun
because he fancied he could paint and sing,
ie spent all his time exercising these two imaginary
alents, one in the morning, the other in the
vening. He had a perfect dread of thunder,
nd had one of his cellars arranged as a room
ined with a double layer of taffety. I went down
o see it out of curiosity. When a storm was
bout to burst he would take refuge in this vault,
vhile one of his servants beat a drum with all his
night at every clap of thunder. No human
173
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
power could have made him come out before
the sky was all clear once more. As he main-
tained he was not afraid of thunder and only
took refuge in the cellar in order to avoid the
vivid impression made on his nerves by the storm,
somebody wantonly devised a means to deprive
the poor man of his excuse. One day he went
to play a game of cards at the chateau of the
Duchess de Polignac at La Muette, where she
used to spend the summer. The card-table wai
set before a window opening into the park. A^
the base of the window Count de Vaudreuil had
placed a couple of squibs. M. de La Reyniere
was enjoying a quiet game, the weather being
very calm, when of a sudden the squibs went
off with a loud bang. He got such a terrible
fright, crying out " Thunder ! Thunder ! " that
he almost fell ill. His fears were soon removed
when the thing was explained to him. It was
proved, however, not that his nerves were affected
by thunder, but that he was afraid of it.
Mme de La Reyniere's society was made up
of the most distinguished people of the Court
and town. She also attracted to her house the
outstanding personalities in the arts and literature.
The Abbe Barthelemy, author of Anacharsis, spent
his life there. Witty and pleasant Count d*Adhe-
mar went there almost every day, as did Count
de Vaudreuil and Baron de Besenval, Colonel-
General of the Swiss Guards. Mme de La Rey-
niere's great evening receptions usually brought
together the most fascinating women of the Court.
174
MADAME DUGAZON AS NINA.
By Dutertre.
To face p. 174.
ilemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
[t was there that I made the acquaintance of
[l!ountess de S^gur, who was then as good-looking
IS she was kind and nice. Her sweetness and
ifFability were prepossessing. She never left her
3ld and infirm father-in-law, the Marechal de
Segur, who found in her a veritable Antigone.
Her husband, who was noted for his wit and
literary talent, was at that time Ambassador in
Russia.
To complete the charm of Mme de La Rey-
niere's receptions, music was often performed in
the gallery by Sacchini, Piccini, Garat, Richer,
and other celebrated artists. Indeed, it would
be difficult to convey an adequate idea of the
delights of those gatherings, of the amenity and
good manners which prevailed in those salons
among people delighted to be in one another's
company. Moreover, at the time I am speaking
of there were several houses of this kind. I will
mention above all those of the wives of Marechal de
Boufflers and Marechal de Luxembourg. Though
it must be admitted these two great ladies were
not considered to be the most moral women of
their time, young women eagerly resorted to
their houses. Some of them said to me : " It
is there that we get the best lessons in the manners
[)f good society and receive the best advice."
The Marquise de BoufHers, daughter-in-law of
the Marechal and mother of the Chevalier de
BoufHers so famous for his wit, was the author of
a delightful song, a sort of social code, which I
reproduce here because it is little known :
^7S
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
To the tune of " Sentir avec ardeur fiamme discrHe."
II faut dire en deux mots ce qu'on veut dire,
Les longs propos sont sots.
II faut savoir lire
Avant d'ecrire,
Et puis dire en deux mots ce qu'on veut dire.
Les longs propos sont sots.
II ne faut pas toujours parler,
Citer,
Dater,
Mais ecouter ;
II faut savoir trancher Temploi
Du moi, du moi,
Voici pourquoi :
II est tyrannique,
Trop academique;
L' ennui, 1' ennui
Marche avec lui.
Je me conduis toujours ainsi
Ici ;
Aussi
J'ai reussi.i
Coming back to the subject of Mme de La
Reyniere, it may be noted that when she became
a widow she was left with a son who was far from
sharing his mother's pride of nobility, and must
have exasperated her many a time on that score.
First of all, he persisted in calling himself Grimod
de La Reyniere (M. de La Reyniere's original
I " One should say in a couple of words what one has to say. Long-
winded talk is stupid. One must know how to read before writing, and then
say in a couple of words what one has to say. Long-winded talk is stupid.
One should not always talk, quote, date, but listen. One should know how
to cut down the use of the personal pronoun, because it is a despot and too
academic. Boredom is its companion. I always behave in this way here.
Hence I have succeeded."
176
^.moirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
ime was Grimod), and more often than not just
lain Grimod. Moreover, he was on affectionate
rms with his father's relations, and very often
his mother's grand dinners he would talk before
I the Court of his uncle the grocer, or his cousin
ic hairdresser, which put the poor woman on
hterhooks.
Young Grimod de La Reyniere had plenty of
Lt, though he was fond of being original in all
rts of things. For instance, he would never
?r his hat. Having an amazing wealth of hair,
got his valet to do it up into an enormous
upet. Being in the amphitheatre of the Opera
le day, when a new ballet was being performed,
happened to sit in front of a small man who
irted to curse at the top of his voice this new
nd of wall that shut out his view of the stage.
red of seeing nothing, the little man began to
ke one of his fingers through the toupet, then
poked another finger through and so ended
making a sort of quizzing-glass to which he
It his eye. During all this procedure M. de
Reyniere neither stirred nor uttered a word.
the end of the performance, however, he rose
d putting out one hand stopped the man who
IS about to leave ; with the other hand he drew
ittle comb from his pocket, saying in the coolest
mner : " Monsieur, I let you do everything
u cared to my toupet in order to help you to
the ballet at your ease. But I am going out
supper and you must realize I cannot possibly
ssent myself in the state to which you have
M 177
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Bru
reduced my hair, so you will have the goodnei
to rearrange it, or to-morrow we shall cut eac
other's throats." — " Monsieur," replied the litd
man, laughing, *' God forbid I should fight
man who has been so kind to me as you. I wi
do my best." And taking the comb, he dre^
the hair together somehow, after which the
separated like the best friends in the world,
David.
I was always eager for the society of all artis
of note, especially of distinguished artists in m
own art. David, therefore, came pretty often t
my house. Suddenly, however, he ceased coming
Meeting him in society one day, I felt obliged t
reproach him gently on the subject. He replied
" I don't like being in the company of Coui
people." — " How ! " I exclaimed. " Could yo
possibly have noticed that I treat Court peopl
better than others .'' Have you not seen me we
come everybody with the same regard ^ " As li
persisted, I added laughingly : " Ah ! I belie\
you are proud and grieve at not being a dui
or marquis. For my part, I am utterly indifFerei
to titles and receive all nice people with pleasure.
David never came to my house again aft(
that. He even extended to me the hatred \
bore to some of my friends. This is proved b
the fact that later on he got hold of some so
of big book written against M. de Calonne, j
which were related all the odious calumnies again
myself. He always kept this book in his atelie
178
BEAUMARCHAIS.
By Cochin,
To face p. 179.
letnoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
ring on a stool and open at the page where I
'as discussed. Such a piece of malice was so
ack and puerile that I would never have believed
had I not been told about it by M. de Fitz-James,
ount Louis de Narbonne and other acquaintances,
ho saw the thing on more than one occasion.
It must be said, however, that David was so
ind of his art that no amount of hatred prevented
im from doing justice to any talent one might
ive. After my departure from France I sent
Paris the portrait of Paesiello, which I had
linted at Naples. It was hung at the Salon
791) beneath a portrait painted by David,
ith which the artist was doubtless not satisfied,
pproaching my picture, he looked at it a long
hile, then, turning to some of his pupils and
jher persons standing around him, he said :
One would think my portrait was done by a
pman and Paesiello by a man." I was told
lis by M. Le Brun, who was present at the time,
[oreover, I am certain that David never refused
[ give me his praise.
lit is quite likely that such flattering praises of
y talent might have induced me to forget David's
tacks on my person, but I have never been able
forgive his atrocious conduct during the Terror,
e indulged in cowardly persecutions of a great
imber of artists, especially Robert the landscape
linter, whom he had arrested and treated in
ison with barbarous severity. I should never
ive been able to meet such a man again. On
y return to France one of our most celebrated
179
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
painters (Gros) told me during a visit that David
was very anxious to see me again. I made no
reply, and as the painter in question had plenty
of gumption, he realized that my silence was nol
of the kind referred to by the proverb : " Whc
says nothing, consents."
M. DE Beaujon.
Having been asked by M. de Beaujon to pain
his portrait for the hospital founded by him
the Faubourg du Roule, I went to the magnificen
mansion which is now called L'Elys^e-Bourbon
as the unfortunate millionaire was unable to com<
to my house. I found him alone, sitting in
big arm-chair on castors in the dining-room. Hii
hands and legs were so much swollen that h
was unable to use them. His dinner was nothing
more than a sad dish of spinach. But a littl
farther away, in front of him, stood a tabl
prepared for forty diners. The food served a
that table was said to be exquisite and was prepare(
for some intimate women friends of M. de Beaujo
and the persons they cared to invite. Thes
ladies, who were all of good birth and societj
were nicknamed in the world " M. de Beaujon'
cradle-rockers." They gave their orders in th
house, had the whole of his mansion and horse
at their disposal, and paid for these advantages wit
a few moments' conversation which they grante
to the poor invalid, who was tired of living alone.
M. de Beaujon wished to make me stay fc
dinner. I refused, as I never dined away froi
i8o
MADAME VIGEE-LE BRUN.
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demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
lome. But we agreed on the price and pose of
lis portrait. He wished to be painted seated at
L writing-desk, to the middle of the legs, with
Doth hands. I was not slow to begin and to
inish the work. When I was able to do without
:he model, I took the canvas home to finish some
)f the details. I took it into my head to put the
?lan of the hospital on the desk. When M. de
Beaujon got to hear of it, he immediately sent
lis manservant to beg me to obliterate the plan,
md to deliver to me thirty louis as a compensation
'or the time I had employed. I had barely drawn
he sketch, and naturally I refused to take the
hirty louis. The manservant returned next day
md insisted so much on behalf of his master,
hat in order to get him to take the money back
was obliged to obliterate the plan in his presence,
hereby proving to him that it had not taken up
nore than five minutes of my time.
While 1 was working on the portrait of M. de
3eaujon I wished to look over his fine mansion,
vhich was fabled to be very magnificent. No
private person, indeed, lived in the midst of so
nuch luxury. Everything was cosdy and ex-
quisite. The first salon was hung with striking
pictures, not one of which was really worthy of
lote, though proving how easy it is to deceive
imateurs, whatever price they may put upon their
icquisitions. The second was a music-room, con-
aining large and small pianos and all kinds of
nstruments. Other rooms, such as the boudoirs
md studies, were furnished with the greatest
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
elegance. The bathroom especially was delightful.
It had a bed and a bath draped, like the walls,
with fine flower-spangled muslin with a pink
lining. I have never seen anything so pretty.
It must have been very nice to have a bath in
that room. The first-floor apartments were fur-
nished with similar care. In the middle of one
room, adorned with columns, there stood an
enormous gilt, flower-circled basket enclosing a
bed in which no one had ever slept. All that
side of the mansion overlooked the garden, which
in view of its size might be called a park. Il
was laid out by a clever architect and adorned
with a vast quantity of flowers and green trees.
It was impossible for me to look over thij
delightful dwelling without feeling pity for ib
wealthy owner and recalling an anecdote I had
heard a few days before. An Englishman, being
anxious to see all the sights of Paris, asked foJ
M. de Beaujon's permission to inspect the mansion;
When he came to the dining-room, he discovered
the table laid out, just as I had done. Turning
to the manservant who was showing him round
he said : '' Your master must keep a very fin<
table ? " — " Alas ! " replied the man, " my mastei
never sits down to table. He dines off nothing
but a dish of spinach." The Englishman ther
passed into the first salon. *' Here at least li
plenty to delight his eyes," he exclaimed, pointing
to the pictures. — *' Alas, Sir, my master is nearly
blind." — " Ah ! " said the Englishman, as he
entered the music-room, *' he makes up for that
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'emoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
I suppose, by listening to good music ? " — " Alas,
Sir, my master has never heard any of the music
that is played here. He goes to bed too early
in the hope of sleeping a few moments." The
Englishman then looked out at the beautiful
garden and said : " But at least your master
can enjoy his walks." — " Alas, Sir, he can't walk."
[At this moment the persons invited to dinner
arrived, among whom were several very pretty
women. The Englishman remarked : " However,
here is more than one beauty that can give him a
few enjoyable moments." In reply to this remark,
the manservant merely sighed " Alas ! " twice
instead of once, and made no further comment.
M. de Beaujon was very small and fat, with no looks
at all. M. de Calonne, whom I painted at the same
time, was a perfect contrast to him. When the Abbe
Arnault saw the two portraits side by side at my house,
he exclaimed : *' Behold the spirit and the matter."
M. de Beaujon had been banker to the Court
under Louis — , and his financial operations had
always been so clever that before he grew old
he was already possessed of millions. It must be
jaid in his praise that he spent a good deal of his
fortune on good works. No unfortunate ever
appealed to him in vain, while the hospital of the
Faubourg du Roule still reminds the public of
bis benefactions to mankind.
M. Boutin.
Another immensely wealthy financier, who was
IS benevolent as M. de Beaujon, was M. Boutin,
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
for whom I cherished much friendship. He was
no longer young when I made his acquaintance.
He was small, lame, gay and witty, and so good-
natured and kind that one grew attached to him
as soon as one knew him a litde closer. As he
was immensely wealthy, he frequendy received
his numerous friends with great dignity, without
interfering in any way with his good works in
connection with the poor. M. de Boutin was a
perfect host, as I was often able to judge. He
told me he had instituted on my behalf a Thursday
dinner, at which all my intimate friends were
present : Brongniart, Robert and his wife, Lebrun
the poet, the Abbe Delille, Count de Vaudreuil,
who never missed attending whenever he was in
Paris on a Thursday, etc., etc. We were never
more than twelve at table, and these dinners were
so amusing that they made me break my word
never to dine away from home. They took place
in M. Boutin's charming house at the top of a
magnificent garden which he had called Tivoli.
In those days the Rue de Clichy had not yet
been built, so that when you happened to be
there among the beautiful trees and avenues you
might think you were out in the country. ]
may even say that that beautiful dwelling seemed
to me rather too isolated. I should have been
afraid to go there in the evening, and I often
advised M. Boutin never to go home alone.
After my departure from France my brothei
wrote to me that M. Boutin still went on wit!
his Thursday dinners, in memory of me ; tha
184
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
[ was always toasted, as was also Count de Vaudreuil,
vho had likewise emigrated. Unfortunately for
lim, M. Boutin was of the same way of thinking
is M. de Laborde, who wrote to me in Rome
hus : " I am remaining in France. I am un-
ilarmed. As I have never done harm to
myone . . . ! '* Alas ! good, kind M. Boutin
ikewise had never done harm to anyone. Never-
■heless, they both fell beneath the revolutionary
latchet, for both were rich and their riches were
;oveted. I am at a loss to describe the grief I
'elt on learning the news. M. de Boutin was
)ne of the men I shall regret my whole life long.
The Government took possession of all his pro-
perty. His beautiful park was utterly destroyed,
except for a small part which was turned into a
ashionable promenade under the name of Tivoli,
vhere very fine fetes are said to have been
^iven, though I never saw one. It is easy to
ealize that on my return to France I had not the
:ourage to go back to that unhappy spot.
M. DE Saint-James.
M. de Saint-James was Fermier-General, very
A^ell-to-do and a true financier in the fullest sense
)f the word. He was a middle-sized man, big
md fat, with the kind of ruddy complexion that
Dne sees on persons of fifty or so, when they are
n good health and happy. M. de Saint-James
icept a very opulent house. He lived in one of
the fine mansions on the Place Vendome, and
^ave very large and good dinners at which thirty
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
or forty persons at least were present. Having
been unable to refuse an invitation to go there
once, I very much regretted being neither a
gourmande nor a sweet-tooth, for in both these
respects I should have been utterly satisfied. The
numerous company, however, did not strike me
as being nearly so nice as what was to be found
at the house of M. Boutin. M. de Saint-James
received his guests in a manner much more hearty
than elegant. After dinner the guests went into
a superb drawing-room fitted out entirely with
mirrors, which, however, did not help the many
persons present, who were unacquainted with one
another, to carry on conversation together with
the sort of confidence and intimacy that goes to
make up the charm of conversation.
Later on, when M. de Saint-James had arranged
his house and superb garden at Neuilly, which
was always called La Follie Saint-James, he
begged me to go there and dine with some of
my friends. It was a pleasant day. He showed
us round the fine park which had cost a fortune.
Among other expensive follies, he had constructed
an imitation mountain, the enormous stones of
which were no doubt brought from afar at great
expense and looked as though they were merely
hung up. I confess I crossed it very quick, as
those immense arches looked far from safe.
In this superb habitation M. de Saint-James
was fond of giving wonderful entertainments. I
went there once to see a comedy acted. So many
persons had been invited and walked about the
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
garden before and after the show that it looked
like a public promenade.
It may be supposed that the Revolution did
not come in time enough to punish M. de Saint-
James for having displayed so much magnificence,
for I have never heard it said, either abroad or
since my return to France, that he was guillotiiied.
A natural death must have spared him the fearful
fate of M. de Laborde and M. Boutin.
Countess d'Angiviller.
Mme d'Angiviller was what is called a fine
wit. She had this reputation when she was still
Mme Marchais. Her society was composed of all
the men of letters, and even savants. Count
d'Angiviller, who was often among her guests,
fell in love with her and married her. She had
io much influence over him that he never spoke
in her presence, though he had plenty of wit,
good taste and knowledge, which could be easily
enjoyed whenever his wife was absent.
It is quite impossible for me to say whether
Mme D'Angiviller was ugly or pretty, though I
saw her plenty of times and was often put beside
her. But she always concealed her face beneath
a veil, which she never removed even for dinner.
The veil covered, besides her face, an enormous
bouquet of green branches, which she always
Darried at her side. I could never make out
bow she could shut herself up together with the
bouquet without getting a headache. But later
Dn, when I went into her bedroom, I was still
187
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
more surprised to find it adorned with rows of
planks bearing all sorts of green trees that were
never removed even at night.
Mme d'Angiviller was the acme of politeness,
but so oddly given to paying compliments that
people sometimes felt she made a mockery of
politeness. One day M. d'Angiviller gave a
dinner to some artists of the Academy, at which
Vestier was present. Vestier was a very good
portrait-painter and had just exhibited at the
Salon a very fine family group that had aroused
much attention. He must have been about fifty
years old, and was thin, pale, and amazingly
ugly. Wishing to say something flattering to
him, Mme d'Angiviller exclaimed very loud :
** Really, Monsieur, I find you have grown quite
handsome." Poor Vestier went as red as a
cockerel and looked right and left to see whether
the words might not have been addressed to any
other but himself, which made me burst into a
fit of laughter.
It was at the house of Mme d'Angiviller that
I first dined with the Marquis de Bievre, who
became famous for his puns. I was unlucky, for
on the day in question he did not make any.
But I was told of a very good one which he
had addressed to the Queen. Her Majesty having
asked him for a pun, M. de Bievre bowed before
her and noticed she was wearing green shoes.
Whereupon he said at once : " Les desirs de
Votre Majeste sont des ordres ; I'univers est a se^
pieds."
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VLemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
GiNGUENJE.
Ginguene was presented to me by the poet
Lebrun as his intimate friend, so that he some-
imes came to my evening parties, though I did
lot like him in any way. I thought him dry and
without any charm or cheer. He was out of
klace in my society, while his works were as dis-
tasteful to me as his conversation.
In 1789 he read to us an ode he had just
composed for M. Necker. It might very well be
taken for the programme of 1793, for in it he
jpoke of victims and asserted that France could
not be regenerated without bloodshed. Such
atrocious opinions made me shudder. Count de
V^audreuil, who was present, said nothing, but we
xchanged glances and I saw quite well that he
ealized the nature of the man as well as I.
Ginguene never left his friend Lebrun-Pindare.
^Immediately after the death of the latter he paid
visit to Mme Lebrun, who, by the by, had
een a cook, and asked her for Lebrun's manu-
cripts, as he wished to publish them. On going
hrough them in order to put them in order,
Ginguene was somewhat taken aback to find more
than a hundred epigrams against himself, some of
them quite atrocious. The publisher naturally
put them all aside. But I have always suspected
him of having taken his revenge by printing too
many weak and useless things in the works of
Lebrun, which detracts considerably from a collec-
tion that might otherwise be excellent.
189
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
It is well known that he threw himself heart
and soul into the Revolution, and constantly
expressed his regret that it had not been in his
power to vote the death of Louis XVI.
VlG]&E.
My brother was one of those men who are
born to be made much of in society. He had a
very good manner, having been about a good
deal in high society, plenty of wit and instruction.
He wrote very pretty verses with considerable
ease, and acted comedy better than a good number
of actors. He contributed a good deal to the
charm and gaiety of our gatherings. Perhaps the
eagerness with which people sought his company
was detrimental to his literary career, for wei
used to take up much of his time. Nevertheless,
he still had enough in which to gain distinction
as a man of letters. Besides the course of literature
which he gave at the Athenee with great success,
in spite of his coming after a course just given by
La Harpe, Vigee left a volume of light verse
and several comedies in rhyme, two of which,
Les Aveux Difficiles and UEntrevue, remained a
long time in the repertory of the Theatre Franyais.
I am even surprised they are no longer given,
especially UEntrevue, a charming little piece,
which was admirably acted by Mile Contat and '
Mol^.
While still young, my brother married the
elder daughter of M. de Riviere, the Charg^
d'AfFaires for Saxony. She was a charming woman,
190
Aufcur ingpivunix ct seduisant LtMtexir.
A son donWe talent t^out miracle ent pos3il>le ;
Son espnt es( aimahle et son ca-iu- ev-it seusiblo ;
Lp lire pst mi pliusir , If coimaifre un boTiLeiir .
''Winii.winmiiiiiiMriiiimrimu.niii
ETIENNE VIGEE.
By Riuiere,
To face p. 190.
n
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
ull of virtues and talents, an excellent musician
nd gifted with so good a voice that she sang at
y house with Mme Todi without exciting any
mfavourable comparison.
My brother and Mile de Riviere had only
ne child by their marriage, my niece, my beloved
liece, who has given me back a daughter, since,
las ! I lost my own.
The Marquis de Riviere.
I cannot ever think of this fine man without
ecalling the knights of old. Everything about
lim was chivalrous. He faced death a hundred
imes, even the most horrible death, with the
itmost courage, coolness and perseverance in order
o serve the Prince to whom he had consecrated
lis life. His devotion sprang from no ambition
Dut from the truest friendship, the like of which
s rare even among ordinary persons. This afFec-
don of the Marquis de Riviere for Count d'Artois
dominated every other sentiment. It led him
nto exile, poverty and prison ; yet he never
rhought he was making too great a sacrifice for
ts sake. '' I have nothing left," he said to me
Dne day in London. Then, placing his hand on
the spot where the portrait of his beloved Prince
llways lay over his heart, he added : '' But I
tvill shed my last drop of blood for him. Perhaps
Fate has spared my life so often in order that I
may be of use to him. If that is so, I shall be
very glad to have escaped death so often."
It was on account of this praiseworthy desire
191
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
that M. de Riviere always undertook the most
important and often the most dangerous missions.
He knew no rest ; he did not seem to need it.
He would set out for Vienna, Berlin, Petersburg,
taking to the kings who still remained on their
thrones the requests of a king who had lost his.
He was on the road day and night without stop-
ping, sometimes without taking food, and carried
out his mission with so much disinterestedness and
cleverness that he gained the esteem and respect
of all the sovereigns and diplomats of Europe.
These oft-repeated journeys were not dangerous
apart from the extreme fatigue that they caused
him. On the other hand, how many times he
penetrated into France, where he ran the risk of
losing his head ! In his numerous journeys to
Paris during the Reign of Terror how many
times his zeal and activity must have made him
face death ! God seemed to protect him. Once
when about to land in Brittany he found the
coast brisding with soldiers. He jumped from
the boat into the sea at once, remaining under
water until the coast was clear and he could reach
the shore. He went in and out of Paris, some-
times disguised as a match-seller, sometimes in an
entirely different disguise of the same class. During
the daytime he hid in the house of a good fellow
who had once been in his service and was utterly
devoted to him. Night was his only time for
action, and then at the risk of deadly perils.
Often he was unable to evade his pursuers except
by jumping over deep ravines, swimming rivers,
192
lemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figee-Le Brun
ifFering hunger and thirst, and having no rest,
'hus he was always successful in escaping till the
id affair of Georges Cadoudal.
I remember that just before that fatal under-
lining I met him in London at a house where
'ichegru was also present. Declaring me to be
1 excellent physiognomist, M. de Riviere came
3 to me and pointed to the French General,
lying : " Take stock of that man. Do you
link he's to be trusted ? " Of course, I was
together ignorant of what the matter was about,
ut I looked at Pichegru and replied without
esitation : '* He can be trusted. Sincerity seems
me enthroned on his brow." Pichegru, indeed,
as never a traitor. It is only too true that he
as the first to die of the victims of that unhappy
tempt. The fate of M. de Riviere was not so
Drrible, though his imprisonment was long and
uel. He told me on my return to France that
le first dungeon into which he was thrust was
ill of stagnant water reaching as far as his ankles,
to this plight is added the idea of his never,
irhaps, seeing the world again, together with his
ief at being so far from his beloved Prince
id from all his friends, one can imagine what
\ must have suffered. It was during that time
\ misfortune that M. de Riviere reverted to piety,
d found in religion all the necessary strength to
tar so many sufferings and privations.
After being in prison several years, he was
owed out on his word of honour not to leave
•ance, for Bonaparte himself knew what M. de
N 193
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brui
Riviere's word of honour was worth. In fact, h
kept it scrupulously, till the day he had th<
ineffable joy of seeing the Bourbons return.
It is common knowledge that the King mad(
him a Duke, that he was sent as Ambassador t(
Constantinople, and that Charles X had chosei
him to be the tutor of the Duke of Bordeaux
when he died a premature death, to the grea
regret of his young pupil, his beloved Prince, anc
one may say, of the whole of France.
Hearing that Charles X was deeply grieved :
the loss of such a friend, and having alread
painted the portraits of several persons frort
memory, I tried to paint that of M. de Rivier
as well. I was lucky enough to succeed. I a
once took the portrait to the King, who receive<
it with great emotion, exclaiming with tears ii
his eyes : " Ah ! Madame Le Brun, how gratefu
I am to you for your happy and touching idea !
I was more than paid by these words. Never
theless, the following day I received from Hi
Majesty a superb necessaire in silver gilt, which
will keep all my life.
The Duke de Riviere was middle-sized, neithe
handsome nor ugly. All that could be notice
in his countenance was the extreme fineness c
his look, which, together with the expression c
sincerity and good-nature, indicated the whol
character of the man. Even as I depict hirr
M. de Riviere always made the most brilliar
conquests. These were not due to his exteric
advantages, but to the qualities of his soul, whic
194
IN THE PARK.
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brun
procured for him so many faithful friends. Among
ieveral distinguished beauties who had an affection
or him, the last was undoubtedly the prettiest
woman at the Court. She loved him as long as
she lived, and M. de Riviere held her memory
in great affection. He used to wear her portrait
next his heart, beside the portrait of Count
d'Artois. He showed it to me in London. He
did not commit any indiscretion in doing so, for
his liaison with this charming person was known
to everybody. On his return to France, he married
a woman who adored him and whose one happiness
be became. He had thereby several children.
In addition to his noble and fine character,
M. de Riviere had plenty of wit. Some of his
etters might well be printed as models of style,
pvhile the timely word never failed him in con-
i^ersation. One day, for instance, he was lunching
b Petersburg with Suvaroff, who held him in
^reat esteem and affection. The General pointed
JO him and said to the Russian officers : " Let*s
Irink to the bravest ! " — *' To your health,
VIonsieur le Marechal," replied M. de Riviere
It once.
The life of the Duke de Riviere was written
)y the Chevalier de Chazet under the title of
Memoires, All the necessary documents were
placed at his disposal so that there might be no
juestion as to the truthfulness of the work, which
nakes interesting reading and does honour alike
:o the heart and literary talent of the author.
195
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
M. DE BUFFON.
In 1785 I went with my brother and Count de
Vaudreuil to dine with the celebrated savant and
writer, BufFon. He was already very old, dying
shortly after, at the age of eighty-one. I was
struck at first by the severity of his looks, but as
soon as he started talking, he seemed to be trans-
formed. His face brightened up to such an extent
that, without exaggeration, genius glowed in his
eyes. We left him in order to sit down at table,
while he remained in the drawing-room, as he
could no longer eat anything but vegetables. His
son and pretty daughter acted as hosts at dinner,
after which we returned to the drawing-room for
coffee. When the conversation started, M. Buffon
took the lead and seemed to enjoy spinning it
out. He recited several fragments of his works^
which were all the more charming owing to the
warmth and expression in the great man's mode
of speech. It was fairly late when we took our
departure from him with much regret. He thrilled
me so much that I envied his son and daughter-
in-law for being able to see and hear him every
day.
M. LE Pelletier de Morfontaine.
M. le Pelletier de Morfontaine, sometime Mer-
chants' Provost in the reign of Louis XV, was
witty, well-informed, good-natured and well-bred.
Yet I have never known anybody subjected to sc
much ridicule,
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Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
He was very tall and thin. When I made his
acquaintance he was about fifty-five years old
and looked pale and faded. In order to brighten
up his complexion, he used to smear a thick layer
of rouge on his cheeks, and even on his nose.
It was so obvious, that he declared his face would
frighten people if he didn't paint it. This made
his face already comic enough, and he surrounded
it with so funny a head-dress that when I saw it
for the first time I burst out laughing. It was
a large Treasurer's wig, the toupet of which rose
to a point like a sugar-loaf, while long curls fell
down to the shoulders. It was powdered white
all over. Moreover, M. le Pelletier suffered from
somewhat embarrassing infirmities which were not
due to his age but to the misfortunes of Nature.
He was always obliged to keep scented pastilles
in his mouth and to avoid speaking close to people.
He bathed his feet several times a day, and even
at night, and always wore two pairs of shoes with
double soles. In spite of all these precautions it
Vvas impossible to sit near him in a closed vehicle.
I underwent the sad experience with my sister-
in-law in returning from Morfontaine. But,
gracious me ! in spite of everything, M. le Pelletier
was very forward with the ladies and thought
himself to be in their eyes the most dangerous
tnan of the world. He never ceased talking about
biis love affairs, successes and conquests, thereby
giving rise to much fun.
The Chevalier de Coign y told me that on
t^isiting M. le Pelletier one morning he discovered
197
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
him stretched out on a pallet beside a table littered
with phials, medicaments, satchells, etc., and so
pale, not yet having painted his face, that M. de
Coigny thought he was dying. " Ah ! my dear
Chevalier ! " he said immediately, " how delighted
I am to see you ! You must give me your advice
on a subject that gives me a good deal of concern.
I must tell you that I have just broken off all
my liaisons. I am free, absolutely free, and since
you know the prettiest women of the Court, you
are going to tell me which of them you advise
me to pay my attentions to." The Chevalier de
Coigny was perhaps the most amused of all of
us at the funny ways of M. le Pelletier. Naturally
he warmed to the occasion. He set about passing
in review with him the women who were most
remarkable for their beauty. But M. le Pelletier
found in every one something that repelled him.
This scene lasted a long while. " By heavens,
man ! " exclaimed at last the Chevalier, bursting
into laughter. " Since you are so hard to please,
I advise you to imitate handsome Narcissus and
fall in love with yourself."
It was during M. le Pelletier's term of office
as Provost that the bridge at the Place Louis XV
was built. On that occasion the King gave him
the Cordon Bleu, which was obtainable by virtue
of office if a man did not belong to the high
nobility. This ribbon turned his head to such an
extent that he always wore it. I am tempted to
believe that he wore it on his dressing-gown in
the early morning. One day I caught sight of
198
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
him climbing up the rocks that surround the
lake at Morfontaine. He was dressed as usual, as
though he was about to set out for Court. I
called out to him from below, where I was walking
about deep in my rural day-dreams, that his
Blue Ribbon was utterly ridiculous in the midst
of all that beautiful Nature. He never for a
moment felt any grudge against me for having
thus made him realize his oddity. For, after all,
it must be acknowledged that poor M. le Pelletier
was one of the best men that ever existed.
Voltaire.
I was at the Comedie Fran^aise the day Voltaire
was present at the performance of his tragedy
Irene, In all my life I never saw such a triumph.
When the great man entered his box, the shouts
and clapping of hands were so great that I thought
the place would collapse. It was the same when
the crown was placed on his head. The celebrated
old man was so thin and frail that I feared such
strong emotions would cause him mortal harm.
As for the piece, nobody listened to a word of
it. Nevertheless, Voltaire was able to leave the
theatre convinced that Irene was his best work.
I had a great desire to go and see him at the
house of M. de Villette, with whom he was staying.
But I abandoned the idea, having heard that the
great number of visits he was being paid caused
him much fatigue. I can thus say that I only
went to his house in painting ... in the following
manner. Hall, the cleverest miniature painter of
199
Memoirs oj Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
the time, had just finished my portrait. It was a
very good likeness and Hall showed it to Voltaire
while on a visit. After looking at it for a long
while, the celebrated old man kissed it several
times. I confess I was greatly flattered at having
received such a favour, and was very pleased with
Hall for coming to tell me of it.
Prince Henry of Prussia.
When Countess de Sabran presented me to the
brother of the great Frederick, I set eyes on him
for the first time. It is impossible for me to say
how ugly I found him. He must have been aged
about fifty years at the time, the King of Prussia
being much older than he. He was small and
slim, while his shape had no nobility, though he
bore himself very upright. He had a strong
German accent and gargled excessively. As for
the ugliness of his face, it was at first sight utterly
repulsive. Nevertheless, in spite of two large eyes,
one looking right and the other looking left, his
look had a certain gentleness, which was also
noticeable in his voice. His speech was always
full of great kindness, and in listening to him
one grew accustomed to seeing him.
His military bravery is too well known to be
talked about here. As the brother of Frederick,
he was naturally fond of glory ; but it must be
acknowledged that he was as responsive to a piece
of human kindness as to a piece of heroism. He
was good and set much store by the goodness of
others.
200
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
He was passionately fond of the arts, especially
nusic, and even took his first violin with him on
lis travels, so that he might cultivate his talent
>n the way.
His talent was rather middling, but he never
nissed a chance of exercising it. During his
tay in Paris, he constantly came to my musical
jvenings. He was not at all afraid of the presence
if the foremost virtuosi, and I never saw him
efuse to take his part in a quartet beside Viotti,
vho played first violin.
Count d'Albaret.
Another passionate amateur of music living in
f*aris at the same time was Count d'Albaret. Not
fnly did he make it his business to attend all the
loncerts, but in spite of a small income he had
lis own body of musicians, after the manner of
overeigns. He boarded and lodged in his house
line or ten musicians, paying them a salary and
Uowing them to take pupils during their leisure
jours.
These artists, as one may readily suppose, were
ill second rate. The singing lady, for instance,
vho sang only Italian airs, had a fairly good
/^oice, but would never do for a prima donna,
ind I remember the singing master he gave me
aad a rather middling knowledge. The same
tould be said regarding his instrumentalists, not
jven excepting the first violinist. Nevertheless,
ill these people were so accustomed to team work
md constant rehearsals that nowhere was such
20I
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
excellent music executed as at the house of Count
d'Albaret. Hence, all music-lovers flocked to his
concerts. These took place on Sunday morning.
I went there several times, and always came away
delighted.
Count d'Espinchal.
Here you have a man whose business and
pleasure, in a word, whose whole existence was
confined to knowing, day by day, what was
happening in Paris. Count d'Espinchal was always
the first to be informed of a marriage, love intrigue,
death, the reception or refusal of a play, etc. ;
so much so, that if anybody needed any information ^
whatsoever about anybody or anything in the
world, his or her first remark would be : " One
must ask d'Espinchal about it." Of course, in
order to be so well posted, he needed to know
an amazing number of people. Hence he was
unable to go down the street without greeting
somebody at every step, ranging from the grand
gentleman to the theatre boy, from the duchess
to the charwoman and kept girl.
Furthermore, Count d'Espinchal went about
everywhere. He was sure to be seen, if only for
a moment, at the promenades, horse-races, in the
salons, and in the evening at two or three shows.
I could really never make out when he took his
rest, for he spent almost every night at the balls.
At the Opera and the Comedie Frangaise, he
knew exacdy whom all the boxes belonged to.
Most of them, it is true, were hired by the year
202
^,
THE DUCHESSE D'ORLEANS.
By Madame he Britn [Musee de Versailles),
To face p. 202
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
I those days. He would have them opened one
fter another in order to stay five minutes in each ;
3r he had too much business in all directions to
ay long visits. He just spent time enough to
ather a few more bits of news.
Happily, Count d'Espinchal was not ill-natured,
^herwise he would have been able to upset many
household, break off many liaisons of love or
riendship, and do harm to a good number of
lersons. He was not even very talkative, and
;new how to hold his tongue with the persons
oncerned in the numberless mysteries he managed
D discover. It was quite enough for his personal
itisfaction to be perfecdy in the know regarding
II that was happening in Paris and at Versailles,
lut to accomplish this aim he left no stone un-
lirned, and was certainly better informed about
undreds of matters than the Chief Constable
i^as.
Such a mania is so odd that in order to prove
is reality I will relate an incident that was known
>y the whole of Paris at the time. One day, or
ather one night. Count d'Espinchal was at the
)pera Ball. In those days the ball was not what
t has become nowadays ; it was frequented by
;ood society, and the best ladies of the Court
iid town did not forego the pleasure of attending
t, " disguised to the very teeth," as the saying was.
^or M. d'Espinchal, however, no disguise existed,
ie recognized everybody at a glance. Hence
11 the masked dominoes avoided him like the pest.
ie was walking about the hall when he noticed
203
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
a man he Jailed to recognize. The man was run-
ning about, pale and scared, going up to all the
women disguised as blue dominoes and turning
aside in despair. The Count did not hesitate tc
approach him, and said with a look of interest :
** You appear to me to be in difficulties, Monsieur.
If I can be of use to you by any means, I shal
be delighted." — " Ah ! monsieur," answered the
stranger, " I am the most miserable of men. This
morning I arrived from Orleans with my wife.
who pestered me to take her to the Opera Ball.
I have just lost her in this crowd, and the pool
thing doesn't know the name of the hotel, nor
even the name of the street where we have taken
lodgings." — " Put yourself at ease," replied the
Count. " I will lead you to her. Your wife is
sitting at the second window in the foyer." It
was indeed the lady. Overwhelmed with joy, he
stammered his thanks. " But how did you manage
to guess right. Sir ? " — " Nothing simpler,"
answered the Count. " Your wife is the only
woman at the ball whom I do not know, and I
had already concluded she must have arrived
from the provinces quite recendy."
When I returned ko Paris under the Consulate,
I saw Count d'Espinchal once again. *' You must
have lost your bearings altogether," I said to
him. " You no longer know anybody in the
boxes at the Opera and the Comedie Fran9aise."
His only reply was to raise his eyes to the ceiling.
He died shortly after, of boredom no doubt, for
he was not extremely old. Before dying, he is
204
THE LITTLE GODPARENTS.
After Moreau, junior.
To face p. 204.
^.emoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Figie-Le Brun
lid to have burnt an enormous quantity of notes
hich he was in the habit of jotting down every
/ening. I had, indeed, been told about these
otes by several persons who, perhaps, were
raid of them. Certainly, they would have sup-
lied matter for a very piquant volume, and a
ery scandalous one into the bargain.
Countess de Flahaut.
Among the most distinguished women I knew
efore the Revolution I must not forget the
uthor of A dele de Senange, 'Eugene de Rotheliriy
nd several other delightful works, which every-
ody has read at least once. Mme de Flahaut,
t the present day Mme de Souza, had not yet
kken to writing when I made her acquaintance.
3er son, who is now a peer of France, was then
child of three or four. She herself was quite
oung. She had a pretty figure, a charming face,
he wittiest-looking eyes, and so much amiable-
ess that one of my pleasures was to spend the
yening at her house, where I usually found her
lone.
On my return to France I longed very much
see her again. A vast amount of business and
arious occupations prevented me so long from
.oing this that I no longer dared present myself
t her house. If by chance she reads these lines,
he will know that I am far from having forgotten
ler.
205
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Bruf
Mademoiselle Quinault.
Mme de Verdun, one of my best friends
acquainted me with Mile Quinault, who had gainec
celebrity as a great actress and was still famou!
as one of the wittiest and most learned women o:
her time. She had left the stage in 1741. Th(
intimate friend of M. d'Argenson and M. d'Alem-
bert, she presided over a salon which had become
the meeting-place of the most distinguished mer
of letters and society people in Paris. There waj
much eagerness for the pleasure of spending s
few moments with her.
At the time of my acquaintanceship with her.
Mile Quinault had, notwithstanding her great age.
retained so much wit and mirth that she looked
young to those who listened to her. Her memory
was amazing. Certainly, she had had plenty oi
time to adorn it, for she was eighty-five yeari
old. Among scores of anecdotes derived frorr
her remembrances, she told us how one day sh€
went to see Voltaire, with whom she was very
friendly, and discovered him in bed. He began
to talk to her about one of his tragedies, in which
he wished Lekain to wear a scarf, placed in a
particular way. In the heat of his description
Voltaire suddenly threw off the bed-clothes and
pulled up his shirt in order to demonstrate a
scarf with it, leaving his decrepit body fully
exposed to the eyes of Mile Quinault, who wa«
quite put out of countenance.
Mile Quinault died, more than ninety yean
2 06
MADEMOISELLE LE BRUN.
By the Cotnte de Cka-uoy.
To face p. 206.
femoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
f age, in 1783. Mme de Verdun, who went
see her one morning, was surprised to
nd her fully dressed and decked out with
link ribbons, but in bed. " How ? " said
/Ime de Verdun. " I have never seen you so
oquettish ! " — " I have dressed myself in this
i^ay," replied Mile Quinault, " because I feel
am going to die to-day." The same evening
he passed away.
Count de Rivarol.
One morning my brother brought to see me
I^ount de Rivarol, who was very popular in the
nost brilliant circles of Paris on account of his
vit, even before he had written anything. As I
vas not expecting him, I was in my atelier putting
he finishing touches to several portraits I had
ust painted. It is common knowledge that this
inal work does not allow of any distraction, so
hat in spite of the desire I had always felt to hear
VI. de Rivarol talk, I was too much preoccupied
o enjoy all the charm of his conversation. More-
over, he talked so volubly that I was almost stunned.
However, I nodced that he had a handsome face
and an extremely elegant figure. None the less,
he must have thought me so clumsy that he never
came to see me again. Maybe some other reason
kept him from coming. He spent his life with
the Marquis de Champcenetz, who was always
Very ill-natured towards me. Though possessing
neither the talent nor the brains of the author of
207
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Discours sur runiversalite de la langue Fran-
faisCy the Marquis de Champcenetz had plenty of
wit, and generally used it to tear his neighbour to
shreds. Like M. de Bievre, he was fond of puns
and always making them, so that Rivarol called
him the epigram of the French language.
It was the Marquis de Champcenetz who, on
being condemned to death by the revolutionary
tribunal, gaily asked his judges whether he was
allowed to find a substitute as for service in the
National Guards.
Paul Jones.
I often went to supper at the house of Mme
Thilorie, sister to Mme de Bonneuil, with that
celebrated sailor who rendered so many services
to the American cause and did so much harm to
the English.
His reputation had preceded him in Paris,
where everyone knew the number of battles in
which he had triumphed with his little squadron
over the ten times superior forces of England.
Nevertheless I have never met so modest a man.
It was impossible to get him to talk about
his great deeds, but on all other subjects he
willingly talked with a great amount of sense
and wit.
Paul Jones was a Scotsman by birth. I believe
he would have very much liked to become an
admiral of the French Fleet. I even heard that
when he returned to Paris a second time he made
208
^.emoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
request of this nature to Louis XV, who gave
im a refusal.
However that may have been, he went first of
1 to Russia, where Count de Segur presented
im to the Empress Catherine II, who received
im with the utmost distinction and invited him
> dinner. He left Petersburg to join Suvaroff
pd the Prince of Nassau, with whom he dis-
nguished himself once more in the war against
le Turks. Back in Paris, he died during the
Levolution, but before the Reign of Terror,
Mesmer.
Having heard endless talk about this notorious
jharlatan, I had the curiosity to assist once at
t^hat he called his seances, in order to judge of
his jugglery for myself. On entering the first
joom, in which the adepts of animal magnetism
i^ere gathered, I saw a lot of people standing
jound a large, well-tarred tub. Most of the men
nd women held one another's hands to form a
hain. I wished at first to join in the circle, but
1
thought I noticed that the man who was to
le my neighbour was mangy. You can imagine
pw quick I withdrew my hand and passed into
e next room. As I crossed the room accomplices
f Mesmer pointed small iron wands at me from
ill sides, which annoyed me amazingly. After
dsiting the various rooms, all of which were full
)f the sick and the inquisitive, I was about to go
iway when I saw a tall, young, rather pretty girl
o 209
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brut,
coming out of a neighbouring room, while Mesme:
held her hand. She was all dishevelled and de-
lirious, taking great care, however, to keep he:
eyes shut. A crowd gathered about therti imme
diately. " She is inspired," said Mesmer. " Sh«
can guess everything, though she is quite asleep.'
Then he made her sit down, seated himself ir
front of her and, taking her by both hands, askec
her what o'clock it was. I noticed quite wel
that he kept his feet on the feet of the pretendec
soothsayer, which made it quite easy to tell th
time and even the minutes. Hence the girl'
answers were so exact that she proved to be ir
agreement with all the watches of the assistants.
I confess I came away indignant at the idea o
its being possible for such quackery to succee(
among us. Mesmer earnt heaps of money. No
only did he gain immense profits from his much
frequented stances, but his numerous dupes mad'
a subscription for him, which, I was told, amounte(
to nearly five hundred thousand francs. He wa
soon obliged, however, to go to an unknowi
place in order to enjoy the fortune he had acquire
in Paris. The rumour having got abroad tha
many indecent things were taking place at hi!
stances, the doctrines of this juggler were examinee
by the Academy of Science and the Royal Societ^
of Medicine, and the judgment of these t\
learned bodies regarding animal magnetism was o
such a nature that it obliged Mesmer to leave
France. .
Nowadays, when tubs and small iron wanJ
2IO
THE PRINCESS-ROYAL AND THE DAUPHIN.
By Madame Le Brun.
To face p. 210.
demoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
lave disappeared, we still find people who are
;onvinced that some woman or other, often quite
lliterate, sent to sleep by a magnetizer, can not
>nly tell you the time, but also guess your disease
md tell you the best treatment to follow. May
hese sleep-walking sibyls do a lot of good to those
vho consult them ! For my part, if I was ill, I
ivould rather call in a clever, wide-awake doctor.
M. Charles and M. Robert.
I saw the ascent in a balloon of the first two
nen who had the courage to venture into the air
n so frail a contrivance, which had just been
nvented by Montgolfier. They were Charles and
Robert. They had fixed their balloon to the
jreat basin at the Tuileries. On the day appointed
•or the ascent (December i, 1785) the garden
?vas filled with an enormous crowd, the like of
?vhich I have never seen. When the ropes were
:ut and the balloon rose majestically to so great
m altitude that it was lost to our sight, the ad-
niration and fear for the two brave men in the
ittle basket drew a cry from every breast. Many
people — and I confess I was of their number —
lad tears in their eyes. Happily, it was reported
I few hours later that Charles and Robert had
anded safely a few miles from Paris at a village
?vhere the arrival of these passengers of the air
nust have created quite a lively sensation.
M. Charles was a member of the Academy of
Science, and one of our most distinguished savants.
21 1
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-he Brim
He was, moreover, an excellent man, being pas-
sionately fond of music. Every year in his
splendid laboratory he gave a series of lectures
which were much frequented both by students of
science and people of society.
212
INDEX
cademy, French, 8, 39, 46, 6^, 66, 67
idheniar, Comte d', 174
Ibaret, Comte d', 201, 202
lembert, d', 205
illard, Mademoiselle, 95
.mbassadors, Turkish, 48
.msterdam, 64
.ncenis, 124
.ngiviller, 58, 187, 188
.ntwerp, 64
.remburg, Duchesse d', 43, 62
.rgenson, d', 206
Lrnault, The Abbe, 22, 69, 183
jnoult. Mademoiselle, 77, 92, 93
^rtaut, 137, 138
trtois, Comte d', 59, 61, 91, 97, 103,
104, 141, 146, 191, 195
^^tois, Comtesse d', 59
kthens, 141
lUbert, 43
^uguier, Madame, 122, 123, 124,
125, 127
i.zevedo, 28, 68
larthelemy, The Abbe, 174
ieaujon, de, 78, 180, 181, 182, 183
leaumarchais, 91, 104, 105
teauvoisin, 138
lenoist, 44
lerlin, 139, 192
Jerthier, 119
lerthollet, Madame, 102
Jesenval, Baron de, 174
ievre, Marquis de, 86, 188
liron, Marechal de, 167, 168
{oisset, Randon de, 23
lonaparte, 193
lonneuil, Madame de, 37, 38, 49, 50,
74, 75, 208
Joquet, Mademoiselle, 20, 21, 29
Jordeaux, Due de, 194
BoufBers, Chevalier de, 70, 148, 175
Boufflers, Marechal de, 175
Boufflers, Marquise de, 175
BoufFon, 196
Bougainville, 171
Boutin, 73, 75, 76, 183, 184, 185,
186, 187
Breteuil, Baron de, 57
Briard, 21
Brionne, Comtesse de, 26, 38
Brissac, Due de, ir6, 117, 118, 119
Brissac, Marechal de, 168
Brizard, 84
Broc, de, 124
Brongniart, 54, 129, 130, 131, 184
Brunoy, Marquise de, 1 14
Brussels, 63, 64
Cadoudal, Georges, 193
Caillot, 96, 97, 103
Calonne, 78, 81, 82, 108, 150, 178, 183
Campan, 55, 122, 124, 125, 127
Canillac, Madame de, 43
Canning, Mrs., 80
Carlin, 96
Casanova, 172
Catherine II of Russia, 9, 53, 166, 208
Chaillot, 34, 35, 37
Chalgrin, Madame, 30, 74
Chamfort, 152, 153, 169
Champcenetz, de, 67, 207, 208
Champs Elysees, 33
Chantilly, 10 1
Charles the scientist, 2 x i
Charles X, 194
Chartres, Due de, 33, 46
Chartres, Duchesse de, 26, 28
Chastellux, Marquis de, 166
Chaudet, 74
Chaumette, 143
Chazet, Chevalier de, 195
213
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Choiseul, Due de, 39
Choiseul-Gouffier, Comte de, 140, 141
Choiseul, Madame de, 27
Clairon, Mademoiselle, 87, 88
Clery, Rue de, 8, 20, 41, 67, 74
Coicelles, Marquise de, 166
Coigny, Chevalier de, 197, 198
Colombes, Chateau de, 158, 159, 160
Colysee, The, 33
Come, The surgeon, 19
Comedie Franfaise, 32, 104, 199, 202
Conde, Prince de, 153
Contat, Mademoiselle, 91, 92, 104,
134, 190
Conti, Prince and Princess, 103, 150
Cramer, 68
Crillon, Due de, 121
Crussol, Bailiff of, 80
Cubieres, Marquis de, 74, 75, 76
Custine, Madame de, 149
Dalayrac, 98
D'Alembert, 18, 39, 40
Dauphin, The, 57
Davesne, 16
Davich Khan, 49, 50
David, 178, 179, 1 80
Delille, The Abb6, 70, 71, 121, 122,
140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 158, i6i,
164, 184
Demoustiers, 44
Despr^s, 152
Diderot, 18
Doligny, Mademoiselle, 91
Dominichino, 45
Doyen, 15, 20, 151, 173
Du Barry, Madame, 113, 114, 115,
117, ri8, 119
Dugazon, 86, 90
Dugazon, Madame, 98, 99
Dumesnil, Mademoiselle, 84, 85
Duth6, Mademoiselle, 28
Echelles, 138
Elizabeth, Princess, 59, 153
Elizabeth II of Russia, 25
Entraignes, Comte d', 94
Ermonville, 109
Espinchal, Comte d', 202, 203, 204
214
Filleul, 29
Fitz-James, de, 179
Flahaut, Comtesse de, 205
Flanders, 62, 64, 6^, 165
Fleury, 92
Fleury, Cardinal de, 39, 40
Florence, 81
Fontainebleau, 53, 56
Foulon, 119
Franklin, i8o
Frederick the Great, 200
Garat, 28, 68, 103, 104, 175
Gardel, 94
Garde Nationale, 132, 134, 208
Gaudron, 108
Genlis, Madame de, 132, 156, 157
Genlis, Marquis de, 33
Gennevilliers, 97, 103, 104, 169
Geoffrin, Madame, 25
Gerbier, 37
Ginguen6, 74, 189
Giroux, Abbe, 171
Gluck, 22, 68, 69, 75, 93
Gorsas, 78
Gramont-Caderousse, Duchesse de, 45
Greece, 140
Grenoble, 136, 138
Gr^try, 37, 38, 54, 68, 94, 98
Greuze, 8, 23
GroUier, Marquise de, 70, 88, 154,
155, 161
Guiche, de, 162, 163
Guimard, Mademoiselle, 94, 95
Helvetius, 18
Henry, Prince of Prussia, 68, 8r, 148,
200
Holland, 63
Houdetot, Comtesse de, 166
Howe, Clarissa, 26
Hulmandel, 68.
Jarnovick, 68
Jones, Paul, 208
Joseph II, 53
Kourakin, Princess, 9
Laborde, de, 81, 134, 185, 187
lemoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise VigSe-Le Brun
Bruyere, 39, 40
Fayette, Marquis de, 172
Fontaine, 142
Guiche, Comtesse de, 79
Harpe, 46, 190
mballe, Princesse de, 61
imeth, de, 59
1 Reyniere, Madame de, 172, 173,
irive, 72, 87, 88
I Ruette, 98, 103
luzun. Due de, 39
Belloi, 97
B Brun, 8, 41, 42, 5:, 62, 67, 79,
80, 108, 179, 189
ecomte. Mademoiselle, 108
e Couteulx du Molay, Madame, 70
ekain, 37, 72, 84
emaire, 18
e Moine, 37
e Pelletier, no, 196, 197, 198, 199
t Roulx, Mademoiselle, 44
etour, 37
jvis. Marquis de, 23
!gne. Prince de, 62, 63, 164, 171
ongchamp, 31
orraine, Princesse de, 26, 39, 172
■ouis XIV, 168
ouis XV, 115, 117, 119, 209
ouis XVI, 58, 76, 90, 135, 152, 163
ouis XVIII, 59, 60, 170
ouveciennes, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118
ouvre, 21
lUbin, 97
.ubomirski. Prince Henry, 74, 80
uxembourg, 22, 34
.uxembourg, Marechal de, 175
.yons, 137, 138
4aestrino, 68
4alamison, 121, 122
darais Institution, 32
larie-Antoinette, Queen, 7, 8, 45, 52,
547 55' 567 57> 587 61, 99, 135, 151,
152, 162, 163, 164, 188
darken, 63
darly, 35, 36, 114, 122
/[armontel, 69
idars. Mademoiselle, 93
idarseilles, 141
Martini, 68
Maupertuis, no
Mazarin, Duchesse de, 47, 48
Menageot, 77
Mesmer, 209, 210
Minerva, Temple of, 141
Mirabeau, 153
Molay, Comtesse du, 121, 122
Mont-Cenis, 139
Montesquiou, Marquis de, 60, no
Montesson, Madame de, 102, 103
Montgeroult, Madame de, 68
Montgolfier, 211
Monvel, 85
Monville, de, 115
Morfontaine, 109, 189
Muette, Chiteau de la, 29, 163, 174
Muller, 64
Naples, 139, 179
Narbonne, Comte de, 119, 179
Nassau, Prince de, 171, 172, 209
National Assembl^-^, 61
Necker, 133, 189
Ney, Marshal, 124
Nivernais, Due de, 112, 113
Noailles, Marechal de, 67, 113
Normandie, Due de, 57
Olivares, Comte, 121
Olivier, Mademoiselle, 104
Opera, 27, 48, 49, 95, 177
Opera Comique, 95, 98
Orleans, Due d', 102, 133
OrlofF, Comte, 25
Paesiello, 179
Palais Royal, 23, 27, 69
Pamela, 132
Parny, de, 91
Paroy, Comte de, 74
Parthenizza, 166
Pelin, Mademoiselle, 95
Penthievre, Due de, 29, 36
Perico, Carlo, 32
Perouse, de la, 32
Peter III, 25
Peze, Madame de, 70
Philippe-Egalite, 33
Piccini, 69, 93
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Pichegru, 193
Pierre, 6^, 66
Pindare-Le Brun, 70, 71, 74, 76, 109,
147, 149, 150, 151, 152, 184
Poinslnet, 15
Polignac, Duchesse de, 162, 163, 164,
174
Poussin, 74
Praslin, Due de, 23
Presle, Harin de, 23
Preville, 90, 91
Princess Royal, 57
Quinault, Mademoiselle, 206, 207
Raby, Mademoiselle, 27
Raincy, 102, 103
Raphael, 23, 24, 45
Raucourt, Mademoiselle, S6
Regnault, Saint- Jean d'Angely, 37
Rembrandt, 23
Renard, Mademoiselle, 31
Richer, 68
Richet, 175
Rivarol, Comte de, 207
Riviere, 72, 74, 103, 104, no, 132,
133, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195
Robert, no, 120, 135, 159, 160, 161,
179, 184
Rohan, Cardinal de, 39
Rohan- Rochefort, Princesse de, 38
Roissy, Madame de, 37
Romainville, 120
Rombech, Madame de, 165
Rouge, Marquise de, 70
Rousseau, 127
Rubens, 22, 23, 62, 64
Rulhieres, de, 39
Sabran, de, 70, 148, 149
Sacchini, 68, 93, 175
Saint-Denis, Rue, 20
Saint-Georges, 28, 102
Saint-Germain, 113
Saint-Honore, Rue, 26
Saint-Hubert, 93, 94
Saint- James, de, 185, 186, 187
Saint-Luc, Academy of, 78
Saint-Ouen, 112
216
St. Petersburg, 81, 125, 139, 192
209
Sainval, Mademoiselle, 86, 104
Salentin, 68
Salon, 51, 53, 57, 64, 78
Sannois, 166
Sardam, 63
Sceaux, 36
Segur, Comtesse de, 70, 120, 175
Segur, Marechal de, 120, 121, 175
Segur, Vicomte de, 70, 164
Serre, Comtesse de, 82, 83
ShouvalofF, Comte, 25
Sieyes, the Abbe, 122
Simiane, Madame de, 172
Sombreuil, de, 129, 130, 131
Souza, Madame de, 43, 1 14, 205
Spain, 141
Stael, Madame de, 164, 165, 166
Stafford, Lord, 23
SuvarofF, 195, 209
Suzanne, 35, 36
Sweden, King of, 46
Talleyrand, de, 169, 170
Talma, 72, 88, 89
Temple, Boulevard du, 31, 33
Theatre Frangais, 85
Thilorie, Madame, 208
Tippoo-Sahib, 49, 115
Tivoli, 34, 184
Todi, Madame, 68
Toulouse, 80
Trianon, 57
Truanderie, Rue de la, 20
Tuileries, 22, 34, 36, 124
Turin, 61
Vallayer- Coster, Madame, 65
Van der Heist, 64
Van Dyck, 23, 62
Varennes, 90
Vaudeville, 54
Vaudreuil, Comte de, 73, 75, 76, 9;
103, 104, 105, 109, 112, 141, 14,
146, 147, i5i» i52» i53> i54j i6i
169, 174, 184, 189, 196
Vauxhall d'£te, 33
Verdun, Madame de, 47, 70, 157, 155
159, 166, 206, 207
Memoirs of Madame Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Le Brun
Vergil, 141
Vernet, Joseph, 21, 22, 24, 65, 74
Versailles, 31, 53, 55, 58, 60, 76, 81,
124, 135, 136, 153, 163, 204
Vestier, 188
Vestris, Mademoiselle, 86, 87, 94, 95
Vien, Madame, 65
Vienna, 139, 165, 172, 192
Vigee, Etienne, 72, 190
Vigee-Le Brun, Madame, 7, 8, 9, 46
60, 77
Villette, Marquise de, 106, 107, 128,
199
Viotti, 68, 201
Voltaire, 199, 200, 206
Vouet, Simon, 158
Watelet, 108
Zamore. 117
217
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
BY UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED
LONDON AND WOKING
^Vj 0^ 7
i
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GETTY CENTER LIBRARY
NO 553 L5 »5 *^
(. 1 vigee-Lebrun. Louise
Uemolrs of Madame Vlgee Lebrun.
MAIN
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